I think we can all agree that eating a chicken from that coop might not be the greatest idea. The more we learn about factory chicken farms, the more we should want to go local. I mean, who wants mutant birds who spend their lives in poop and arrive to us frozen for who-knows-how-long? Yuck.

My parents live near near factory farms owned by one of the largest poultry producers in the world. A whiff of one of their barns should be enough to make anyone eschew mass-produced chickens. And yet, switching to local poultry can be one of the hardest locavore changes to make. Being creatures of convenience, and of the generation that tends to turn up its noses at dark meat, it’s hard to go from those oh-so-easy packages of breasts and wings to a whole bird. Because most small farms don’t sell indiviual parts. You can get a whole chicken, or go without.

Over the past year my family has switched to whole, locally-raised chicken (with a few exceptions, mainly when the hot wing craving gets the best of us). A whole chicken has lots of possibilities. Few foods conjure the comfort of a perfectly roasted chicken. Or you can cram a can of beer up the chicken’s butt and throw it on the grill for some beer can chicken. If you know how to properly cut a chicken, you’ll be on your way to awesome grilled or fried bird.

There’s no lack of ways to prep a whole chicken. There is, often, a lack of time. Or a lack of cooking skills. The first one tends to be a big problem at my house. Dealing with a whole chicken can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. I’ve found a way to minimize the hands-on prep time for a whole bird while stretching the number of meals we get from it. And it’s so easy even the cooking skill-free people can handle it.

You do know that slow cookers are awesome, right? Of course you do. If you don’t have one, invest. You won’t be sorry.

Thaw your chicken. Check inside the bird and remove any innards. I know, some of you are squirming. That’s okay. You can wear gloves. If you don’t eat innards, they make a much-loved treat for your dogs and cats. I’m not a fan of hearts and gizzards, but I love chicken livers. I’d like to say that every time I prep a whole chicken, I toss the liver into a freezer bag until I have enough to make pate. Truth is, I usually toss it with some flour, salt, and pepper and fry it for immediate consumption. Consider it my reward for sticking my hand inside a chicken.

Place the chicken in the crock pot with three sliced carrots, two sliced stalks of celery, a chopped onion, and a handful of smashed garlic. Add water until the chicken is half submerged. Don’t add more water than that, because the chicken will produce its own juices while it cooks. You don’t want an overflow. Trust me.

Set the slow cooker to low and cook, 8-10 hours or until the chicken’s cooked through. Turn off the slow cooker and let sit 30 minutes before removing the chicken from the liquid. Be careful when you remove it, because your chicken will be so tender it will fall apart in your hands.

Once the chicken’s out, remove the skin and bones. The meat should easily shred. Put it in a bowl and refrigerate for up to four days. Mix up the dark and white meat. And don’t worry so much about dark meat’s bad reputation. If you’re using a free-range chicken, the fat content will be lower than a factory farmed one. Do the chicken in the picture look like they get any exercise? They don’t, which has the same effect on poultry as it has on humans.

You now have homemade chicken stock! It’s going to be super-rich, because any fat from the chicken will be in the liquid. If you want a skinnier version, place the stock in the fridge overnight. The fat will rise to the top and become solid by morning. You can remove it. Or you can leave the fat and dilute it with water if you want to make it go further.

If you leave the veggies in the stock, all you have to do is add cooked noodles and you’ve got homemade chicken noodle soup. There’s meal #1 from your bird. Remove the veggies, and you’ve got stock you can use in any recipe that calls for it.

As for that giant bowl of shredded chicken meat, use it in any recipe that requires chicken bits. Add to salads. Make chicken salad. Toss it with pasta, or make white chili. Heat a jar of curry sauce, make some basmati rice, and you’ve got quickie curry. Fill tacos or burritos. This green enchilada recipe’s my absolute favorite use for shredded chicken.

I’m sure you’ve got your own ideas for that chicken, which will easily make two fast, easy dinners. Share ‘em!

Where to get your St. Louis chicken? I get mine from Greenwood Farms.