Crock Pot Chicken

Waiting is hard.  Bedrock, petrified wood, concrete HARD.  Yeah, I'm sure that's a newsflash for you.

I applied to grad school this week.  You have to understand, I've been waiting four years for this.  We've gone from thinking I'd study at home in the first year of our marriage, to thinking we would move to Texas, to thinking we'd move to Los Angeles, to having no flipping idea WHAT was going on (we're still kind of there), to finally picking a school and a program and making a plan.  The problem now is that that "plan" is entirely contingent on what kind of financial aid we receive.  As soon as my FAFSA comes through, I should have an answer within a few days. It's out of our hands and into the Lord's, and that is not. easy. at. all. 

I'm practically squirming in this waiting process, because I feel like four years of hope and uncertainty and frustration and dreams and plans and stress is finally coming to a head.  Whether or not it works out for me to go back to school there are pros and cons, but deep down I'm kind of dying for it to work out.  In fact, I'm so hopeful that I'm completely not talking about it or even allowing myself to think about it, because deep down I kind of think it's not going to happen.  I have good reason to think it won't, but what do I know?  Clearly nothing.  That may well even be a defense mechanism - I was also convinced Malachi was a girl, and obviously I was wrong there, too (but I desperately wanted a boy).  Anyways, blech.  That is where I am. 

So, speaking of waiting, I cooked a 4-hour crock pot chicken this past weekend and it was pretty good. Worth the wait.  (And you can make it an 8-hour chicken, too, if you want to put it in before work).

Crock Pot Chicken

• 1 whole 3-4 pound chicken (I frequently find these marked down.)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 tsp. rosemary
• 2 Tb. fresh parsley (or 1/2 Tb. dried)
• 4 large fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 sliced leek, or 1/2 chopped onion

Remove the grodies from the chicken, rinse, and pat dry.  Put chopped onion in the bottom of crockpot.  Mix dried spices together and rub chicken inside and out with them.  Place chicken breast-side down into the crockpot and top with fresh herbs.  Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

Obviously, I put the chicken in upside down - live and learn.