Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken with Gravy

Though I have a slow cooker, I've never been a huge fan of using it. I often found that food came out dry...which always perplexed me considering the food was being braised in liquid, or the food was mushy or stringy with an unappealing texture. I have a few recipes here and there where I do use my slow cooker with excellent results, like my Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, Slow Cooker Ranch Mushrooms, Lamb Curry, Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, and my Crockpot Baked Stuffed Apples but for the most part, my slow cooker is used when I have guests and want to keep a food item hot on the buffet table.

The idea of cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker had me envisioning stringy, tasteless, potted meat...totally unappealing. But then I saw Michelle's recipe for Slow cooker roast chicken and gravy and the pictures were mouthwatering delicious. I read her post where she spoke about having the same experiences of stringy, dry slow cooker chicken but that the method she used for the whole chicken had it coming out delicious, moist and wonderful, so I decided to give it a try. I followed Michelle's cooking directions and part of her recipe but I used seasonings closer to what I use when making my Rotisserie Chicken.

The chicken smelled amazing as it cooked and I was happy to see that when time was finished and I opened the lid, the chicken looked delicious and appealing instead of pale and anemic. I carefully lifted the chicken from the cooker to the cutting board but trust me, that was difficult as the meat was fall off the bone tender. I pulled off a small piece and tentatively put it in my mouth, hoping for moist, delicious chicken with a gorgeous texture and I was one happy gal when that's exactly what I got. The chicken was really close in mouth feel and taste to my Rotisserie Chicken. Then I made the easy-peasy gravy following Michelle's directions and WOW, was that off the charts good, even for this gravy eschewing gal. I pulled all the chicken from the bones and then placed the bones and skin back into the empty, un-rinsed slow cooker, added an onion, some carrots, garlic, bay leaves and water, set the slow cooker to high and a few hours later I had a nice crock of Cheaters Chicken Soup.

Eammon, Maisie and I all loved both the chicken and the gravy. I'm telling you, what an easy way to have a healthy and delicious dinner ready and on the table especially on Maisie's late gymnastics nights. This recipe is a keeper and I'll be making it time and time again.

 

Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken with Gravy

• 4-6 pound whole chicken
• 2 TBS. ghee
• 2 cups medium chopped onions
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 TBS. tomato paste
• 1/2 cup Cheaters Chicken Soup or chicken stock
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

Melt the ghee in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and allow it to soften. Add the tomato paste and cook stirring constantly for a minute or two. Add the chicken stock to the pan and deglaze. Season with salt and pepper. Add the onion mixture to the bottom of the crockpot.

While the onions are cooking, in a small bowl mix together all the spices from the paprika to the cayenne pepper.

Remove anything that may be in the cavity of the bird and rinse the bird well. Dry the bird with paper towels and then sprinkle the spice mix inside the cavity and all over the skin, covering all surfaces.

Place the bird breast side down on the onion mixture, cover the slow cooker and set to cook on low for 4-6 hours. My chicken was 5.5 pounds and it cooked for 5.25 hours.

When the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the cooker. Defat the cooking liquids and then using an immersion blender, blend to make gravy.

Slice or pull apart the chicken and serve with the gravy.

Michelle notes to always cook the chicken on low and never for more than 6 hours if you want a moist and tender chicken.

Enjoy!

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

One of Eammon’s favorite dishes is Chicken Tikka Masala so when I saw this slow cooker version at Julie’s Table for Two, I just had to give it a try.  The smell of it cooking all day drove us crazy as the aroma was gorgeous and when we tasted it, well pure perfection.  I actually got all the ingredients mixed together in the crock insert of my slow cooker the night before I planned to make it, left it in the fridge over night and in the morning, popped the ready-to-go crock in the crockpot, turned it on and a few hours later we were enjoying a delicious meal…and only the crock to clean up!  Make this dish, you won’t be disappointed.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tiakka Masala  (slightly adapted from here)

• 3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 TBS. fresh grated ginger
• 1 - 29 oz. can tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt 
• 2 TBS. olive oil 
• 2 TBS. Garam masala 
• 1 TBS. cumin 
• 1/2 TBS. paprika 
• 1 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
• 2 – 3-inch pieces whole cinnamon sticks 
• 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 
• 1 TBS. cayenne pepper, more or less depending on your heat preference
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 TBS. cornstarch 
• cilantro, for topping

Place everything up to and including the bay leaves into the removable crock of a slow cooker.  With a spatula, stir to combine everything and make sure the chicken is coated well.  Refrigerate overnight or use immediately.  When ready to cook, place the crock into the slow cooker, cover and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

When done, in a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and corn starch, then pour the mixture into the crockpot and gently stir. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to thicken up.

Serve hot over a bed of rice and garnish with cilantro.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, this recipe also freezes and reheats beautifully.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Baked Stuffed Apples

I know, here it is the last day of November and I’m still trying to get my Thanksgiving recipes posted and shoot, this isn’t even my last one.  Busyness, continued sickness and tiredness…well I’m just behind and maybe one day I’ll catch up…maybe by next Thanksgiving??  I mentioned both over on my Moments with Maisie and on this blog that this year with all the food restrictions and sickness, I went really simple with our dinner and especially with dessert.  I mean think about it, what do you make with the following restrictions?  Maisie can’t have wheat, egg or dairy, my Mom can’t have dairy, my Dad limits sugar, Eammon really doesn’t care for desserts which are too chocolaty and I’ve been avoiding flour & sugar and also, though I enjoy crisps, crumbles & some tarts, I generally don’t care for pies, the making or the eating.  

Dessert really was a dilemma until I saw a recipe for Crock-Pot Baked Apples on the blog, Skinny Chef.  The recipe was perfect as it it was the right seasonal flavors and it pretty much met everyone’s dietary restrictions.  Even better, it was simple to prepare and once it was put in the slow cooker no one had to think about it until dessert was served.  Even though the original recipe met most of our dietary restrictions I still tweaked it a bit by changing out the trans-fat free margarine called for in the original recipe, instead using coconut oil and I also decided to add dried cranberries, crystallized ginger and some additional spices to make the dish more my own. 

I loved the simplicity of the dish and the flavor of the filling and the apples.  The only thing I would do differently next time is to use less fat and that’s only because I didn’t care for the mouth feel but on that, I was the only one who complained.  We enjoyed these apples both hot and cold as leftovers.  These apples provided all of the flavors of the holiday without all the heaviness, calories, fat and work of pies and by having these apples I think we all felt a bit less stuffed and possibly…even a bit healthier!

Crockpot Baked Stuffed Apples (adapted from here)

• 6 Honey Crisp, Gala or Macintosh apples, cored
• 1/4 cup Whey Low Gold or brown sugar
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries  
• 2 TBS coconut oil (I would cut this to 1 TBS.) 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. finely minced crystallized ginger 
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves   
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 TBS orange liquor (optional)

Using an apple corer and a serrated grapefruit spoon, core the apples, scooping out all the seeds and opening the cored hole a little wider at the top of the apple than the corer.  It’s okay if you go all the way through as the apples don’t move when they cook and if you carefully scoop them from underneath when serving, the filling stays in them without a problem. 

In a large bowl, mix the Whey Low Gold, walnuts, pecans, cranberries, coconut oil, cinnamon, ginger & ground clove.  Fill each apple with approximately 2 TBS. of the filling, packing it in, and place the filled apples in the crockpot. Pour in the apple cider and orange liquor.  Cover and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours on high heat until the apples are soft and begin to collapse.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Ranch Mushrooms

The market had mushrooms as a loss leader (1.5 lbs. for $0.99) and as Eammon adores mushrooms and I’m one to never pass up a good bargain, I picked up a couple of pounds.  I used some of the mushrooms in recipes like these Slow Cooker Ranch Mushrooms and some I sliced up, sautéed and froze in small FoodSaver packets so that I can easily pull them out and use in future recipes. 

This recipe is a super simple and made in a Crockpot.  The mushrooms can be used not only as an appetizer or side dish but they are wonderful over roasted chicken, a grilled steak or pork chop or even with a sautéed piece of white flakey fish.  I’m sure that once you make these you’ll find many, many ways to enjoy them.

Slow Cooker Ranch Mushrooms

• 3 lbs. white button mushrooms
• 1 – 1 oz. package Hidden Valley Ranch dry salad and dressing mix
• 1 c. salted butter

Combine all three ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for five hours.

Enjoy!!