Defrost chicken if needed. Remove giblits for another dish. Remove as much skin as you easily can from the chicken. Toss in crockpot. Wash fennel and chop the leaves as needed. Put fennel bulb inside cavity of chicken and place quarter cup 'leaves' about the chicken. Chop leeks and carrots and place about chicken. Fill crockpot to cover chicken, with water (or chicken broth). Cook on high for 3 hours, then cool in fridge. Once cool, skim off all fat and remove chicken from bones. Chop fennel bulb and put as much back in the pot as you desire. Put meat back in crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours.

This one is an 'add to me' stew, where you can add almost any other veggie you desire to the mix. Squash and Pumpkin make a good addition! A can of cream based soup does well in this also for a different flavor.

Serves well with: baking soda biscuits (cut and pour the stew over them in a deep bowl) and a slice of fresh melon (Honeydew suggested).

Nutritional Information: Lower-in-fat than store bought broths and stews if you use the water method (estimate 25% calories from fat or less), low-sodium in water version, sugar-free if not using cream-based soup version.

From the kitchen of: xxcarol ----