Going organic

So one thing I needed to conquer in my quest to go organic was cooking with whole chickens. The money you save by buying whole chickens is amazing...and costco is the cheapest place to get them but the thought of tackling a whole chicken is frightening!

The first time I tried cooking a whole chicken, I roasted it for about 1 1/2 hours...it didnt cook all the way through. Which is ok because I was planning on using the meat for various dishes, like enchiladas, tacos, stir fry, etc.

Today I decided to cook it in the crock pot. I put a layer of onions and garlic on the bottom of the crock pot and I covered the chicken in montreal steak seasoning (no MSG...YAY!!!). I let it cook on low for about 6 1/2 hours. After 4 hours I threw in some organic orange carrots from trader joe's and some organic purple carrots and organic red potatoes from the farmers market. Seriously...buying from the farmer's market makes me feel so good! I love supporting the farmers and I love buying local produce. The carrots from trader joe's are so good, and the price cant be beat. I love having organic carrots around to snack on.

Anyways, back to the chicken....it was perfect. The flavor was amazing and the meat fell right off the bones. We had some for dinner tonight and we will have enough to make 3 or 4 other dishes also. If I feel like I wont use it fast enough I will just throw the rest in the freezer until I need it. Oh yeah, and the carrots and potatoes were so yummy. I love cooking yummy food that I know is not going to harm my body.

I also made some whole wheat pesto cheese bread. I have a basil plant that has been producing like crazy lately. I but a handful of basil leaves, 2 cloves or garlic, a couple tablespoons of butter, a drizzle of olive oil (trader joe's is the cheapest), and some parmesan cheese in a food processor and pulsed it until it was all mixed together and the garlic and basil were chopped down to the size that I wanted. I spread it on the bread and baked it until it was crispy (it was probably a little to crispy because I forgot about it). I thought it was delicious but Sean wanted more butter...oh well :)