Sunday, September 24, 2006

A slow cooker Sunday

As I’ve surely mentioned before, I often use my slow cooker for Sunday’s lunch. I have a sort of “rotation” of crockpot meals which we really like, but I’m always looking for new ones. This recipe, which I tried for the first time today, became an instant favorite.

CREAMY COUNTRY CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES

2 1/2 lbs. (or more) bone-in chicken breasts or thighs*
4 medium potatoes, skin left on, cut in 1-inch cubes
1/2 lb. baby carrots
3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 pkg. chicken gravy mix**
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning or sage
1 tsp. seasoned salt◊
1 cup light sour cream

In a large slow cooker, place potatoes, carrots and onion. Top with chicken. In a small bowl, stir together the gravy mixes, water, thyme, and seasonings. Pour this mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook 7 hours on low or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender. Remove chicken and vegetables to serving dishes; cover and keep warm. Whisk sour cream into liquid remaining in slow cooker. You can either pour this gravy over the chicken & vegetables in the serving dishes OR pour it into a pitcher and serve it alongside. Yield: 6 servings.

* The original recipe called for thighs. I used breasts and the result was absolutely wonderful.

** I only had one packet of gravy mix on hand (I decided to make this on the spur of the moment), so, after consulting my MAKE YOUR OWN GROCERIES book I adapted a recipe and came up with the following substitute: In a snack-size ziplock bag, place 2 Tblsp. cornstarch, 1 Tblsp. instant chicken bouillon granules, and a generous dash of pepper. Seal the bag and squish it around to mix the contents well. Use in place of 1 pkg. chicken gravy mix.

◊ I used 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning salt and 1/2 tsp. celery salt.

This was such a comforting, satisfying meal for a dreary rainy day. Hope others enjoy it as much as we did!

For Monday's supper, I'm turning the leftovers of this meal into a soup. I've cut the meat off the bones and added that, cut the carrots into smaller pieces, and combined it all. Tomorrow I may cook some sliced celery and maybe some frozen peas (if I have any) and add those as well. We'll have this meal with leftover Seven-Grain Bread which I baked Friday.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:05 PM

    I love my slow cooker! This sounds like another delicious meal and that tip about the gravy mix is great too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, slow cookers are wonderful! I use mine at least once or twice a week.

    The gravy mix substitute worked beautifully in this meal, but I must hasten to add that I have not tried actually making gravy from it. I'm just not sure how that would be.

    The soup I made from the leftovers of this meal turned out great. We really liked it.

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7:36 PM

    Oh, was this ever delicious! I made it last night for dinner. It smelled so good I started dishing it up before adding the sour cream...it was good without it! I added about a half cup of sliced celery after the onion, I love cooked celery. I did add the sour cream today when I made the leftovers into soup for lunch.
    This is definately a keeper.
    Thanks!
    Blessings, Patty

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Patty --

    Thanks for checking in with your review of this meal! I am so glad you enjoyed it.

    I think adding celery is a super idea, and I will probably do that next time. Didn't the leftovers make wonderful soup?!

    Wanted to tell you I've just bought a binder and page protectors to corral all of my "want to try" recipes as you suggest in Patty's Pantry. Can't wait to get started on this project .. thanks for the idea!

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

    ReplyDelete

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