Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tasty Tuesdays - Slow Cooker Meal: Honey-Lemon Chicken Recipe Inspired by Rachel Ray


This is a new feature I am adding to Books, Products and More! You may not see it every week, but I do cook a lot. I'm not great about measurements all the time, though. At this point, I know my family well enough to season by taste. I don't have a photo of this recipe, except for what appears at Rachel Ray's website. I doctored this a bit and I didn't add the finishes she did, so it didn't look that way when I made it for our church potluck supper. I'll find a way to take photos and cook, but I might need to implore the help of the Lil Diva (10).

As I mentioned, I made this for a church potluck supper. The Lil Diva and my husband had a stomach bug earlier that week, so I didn't get a chance to plan what I would bring. I literally found this on the Internet about 6 hours before we had to be at church. That meant I couldn't go shopping for ingredients I didn't have on hand. I don't use my slow cooker much either. It's old, so it isn't programmable and it weighs a ton. I try not bring anything I haven't made at least once, but this time I had no choice.

You can see the original list of ingredients at Ray's website. You can also watch a video of her making this if you click here.

This is my list of ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)


1 - 1.5 lb. bag of Schwan's Dice Chicken Breast Meat
Salt and ground black pepper

1 lb. of Schwan's Roasted Baby Bakers (potatoes)
1 small onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

1/2 tsp. dry thyme
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup chicken stock or water ( I went with chicken stock.)

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. The chicken was frozen when I used it, and since the diced pieces are so much smaller than Ray's suggestion of bone-in, skin-on thighs, I opted not to fully brown the meat. Instead, I just cooked it until thawed and then seasoned it with salt and pepper.

I lined the bottom of the crock pot with the potatoes. They come in a 2 lb. bag, and I honestly didn't measure to be sure I had exactly 1 lb. I ended up using about 12 - 15 of them. Then I added in the chopped onion, grated garlic, and thyme. I did not season these with salt and pepper as Ray's recipe suggests. The Roasted Baby Bakers are pre-seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, so I didn't feel the need to add anything else.

I placed the chicken over the vegetables and then added the lemon juice, honey and chicken stock. Then this got covered and cooked on high for four hours.

I have to admit I was concerned the meat would be overcooked. I also wasn't too sure about using pre-seasoned potatoes, but it came out great. Even with the liquid generated by cooking, I was easily able to transport this meal without spilling it in the truck; another reason I don't use my slow cooker very often--I hate mess. If I made this again, I would probably up the lemon juice to half a cup or use real lemons.

Feel free to let me know if you make this and how it turns out.

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