Yesterday we had planned to have our pastor and his wife join us for lunch after church. So I thought it would be nice to make the meal in my crockpot so it would be ready whenever we got home from church. Great idea! It ended up working out great, with one almost huge glitch, but by God's grace it all ended up fine.
I made One-Pot Easy Chicken in my 6-quart crockpot, Green Bean Casserole in one of my 4-quart crockpots, and Apple Crisp for dessert in the other 4-quart crockpot. I made a simple green salad on the side as well.
The main glitch was that the Chicken really needed longer than the recipe said, so it was almost quite a disaster. What saved the day was that there was some furniture at the church that needed moving, and so the pastor stayed at church a little later (my dh Todd stayed and helped too), so that bought me a little time to pop the chicken dish in the oven for about 30 more minutes to finish cooking. It was *almost* done, so no big deal. Part of the problem may have been that I was using my old crockpot that I've had since I got married almost 18 years ago, and it isn't oblong, so the chicken on top needed more time. When I make this dish again, I will either cook it in the oblong pot (mine is broken, so I will be investing in a new one soon), or put the chicken on the bottom and not on top as the recipe instructed...the juices flowing down onto the veggies is yummy, though, so I may just do it in the oblong pot.
In the end, everything turned out GREAT, and everyone loved it all! It was very nice to do all the work and cleanup before church so that we could just come home, set the table, and eat!
Here are the recipes:
One-Pot Easy Chicken (Fix it and Forget It Recipes for Entertaining)
6-8 potatoes, quartered
1-2 large onions, sliced
3-5 carrots, cubed
5 lbs. chicken, skin removed (I used boneless, skinless thighs)
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. whole cloves
1 Tbsp. garlic salt
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 /2 cup lemon juice or chicken broth
1. Layer potatoes, sliced onions, and carrots in bottom of slow cooker. (Note: maybe put chicken first -- dredged in seasonings, see next step)
2. Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a bowl, mix together chopped onions, pepper, cloves, and garlic salt. Dredge chicken in seasonings. Place in cooker over vegetables. Spoon any remaining seasonings over chicken.
3. Sprinkle with oregano and rosemary. Pour lemon juice over chicken.
4. Cover. Cook on low at least 6 hours, probably more like 8-10 hours.
Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole
The green beans maintain a nice crunch with this recipe
Serves 6 (I doubled for the 13 people eating, incl children, and we only had a little left over)
Ingredients:
1 pound green beans
1 (10.75-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, or 2 cups of homemade
1 tsp. gluten-free soy sauce
1/2 cup skim milk (omit if using homemade soup)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup French-fried onions, or 2 cups General Mills Gluten-free Rice Chex Cereal, smashed and mixed with 1/2 tsp. onion powder
Preparation:
1. Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Wash and trim green beans in even lengths, and put into slow cooker. Add the soup, soy sauce, and milk (if using).
2. Toss the beans gently to coat. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the beans, and add French-fried onions or homemade topping.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until the beans have reached the desired tenderness.
From Make it Fast, Cook it Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking by Stephanie O'Dea
Apple Crisp (from Fix it and Forget It Recipes for Entertaining)
Serves 6-8 ( I doubled this one as well, and it fit just fine in the 4-quart pot--we had a little left over)
Ingredients:
1 quart canned apple pie filling, OR
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups water
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
4 cups sliced, peeled apples
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
3/4 cup quick oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
1. Place pie filling in slow cooker. If not using prepared filling, combine 2/3 cup sugar, water, cornstarch, apples, cinnamon and allspice. Place in cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over the apple mixture.
3. Cover. Cook on low 2-3 hours.
This was DELICIOUS!! We served it over Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream--sooooo good!
Today we are eating the leftover chicken and veggies for dinner, plus I will be making a corn casserole in the crock pot to serve with it (recipe will be in my next post).
Hope everyone is having a great day! We are in full swing with our Christmas decorating and traditions! We love the Advent season. So many great ways to point our children to Christ! Of course, we do this all year long, but we love the traditions and warmth that come with this time of year, and the receptive hearts of those around us-even those who don't celebrate! It's a great time to share what we believe with those around us!
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