Chicken in a crock pot

By sweetspot.ca | sweetspot.ca – Tue, 13 Sep, 2011 12:00 AM EDT

About a year or so ago, I had some friends over for a dinner party and decided to make a roast chicken. Sure, the whole thing sounded simple — overnight brining in salt water, a day of drying and dusting with herbs, a few hours in the oven and a couple of minutes to rest. Easy, right?

In actuality, it was exhausting! I was so pooped from the chicken prep that I could barely keep my eyes open through dessert. Sure, the chicken was really good, but the whole almost-24-hour process made it totally unrealistic for a Sunday dinner, let alone a weekday night.

And then I found this slow cooker chicken over at Weelicious. I tried the recipe and loved the super-moist texture of the chicken, but wasn't crazy about the zingy lemon flavour or the slightly anemic looking bird. So I came up with my own variation and haven't looked back since. Two and a half hours in the old crock pot followed by a 10-minute broil gives me perfectly roast chicken every time — without having to brine, baste or worry.

Raw chicken in the slow cooker, with celery, carrots, garlic, onion, wine and spices.

You need:

• 1/2 cup of red wine
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 small white onion
• 1 celery stalk, cut in half
• 1 carrot, cut in half
• sprinkle of herbs de provence, thyme, or herb combination of your choice
• tin foil

The slow cooked chicken right before broiling. It would still be tasty to eat it like this, but I like the crispy skin a bout in the oven gives me.

Directions:

1. Crumple three pieces of aluminum foil and place in the middle of your slow cooker.
2. Add wine, garlic, onion, celery and carrot
3. Place chicken on top of aluminum foil. (You may have to push the chicken down a bit so it'll all fit in there!)
4. Sprinkle chicken with herbs, salt and pepper.
5. Set slow cooker to high and cook for 1/2 hour per pound.
6. When ready, stick a meat thermometer into leg to ensure it is done. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan and set oven to 500º Fahrenheit.
7. Broil for 8-10 minutes, or until skin is golden brown.
8. Serve with roast root vegetables, mashed potatoes, or anything else you'd like!

The best part of this recipe? After your done cooking everything, you'll have a considerable amount of jus left over from the chicken. Whisk it with some cornstarch for a truly delicious gravy, or save it in your fridge or freezer for at-the-ready soup stock when you need it in a pinch. (It's so much better than bouillon.)

Yup, chicken in a crock pot is the gift that keeps on giving.

Chicken in a crock pot

By sweetspot.ca | sweetspot.ca – Tue, 13 Sep, 2011 12:00 AM EDT

About a year or so ago, I had some friends over for a dinner party and decided to make a roast chicken. Sure, the whole thing sounded simple — overnight brining in salt water, a day of drying and dusting with herbs, a few hours in the oven and a couple of minutes to rest. Easy, right?

In actuality, it was exhausting! I was so pooped from the chicken prep that I could barely keep my eyes open through dessert. Sure, the chicken was really good, but the whole almost-24-hour process made it totally unrealistic for a Sunday dinner, let alone a weekday night.

And then I found this slow cooker chicken over at Weelicious. I tried the recipe and loved the super-moist texture of the chicken, but wasn't crazy about the zingy lemon flavour or the slightly anemic looking bird. So I came up with my own variation and haven't looked back since. Two and a half hours in the old crock pot followed by a 10-minute broil gives me perfectly roast chicken every time — without having to brine, baste or worry.

Raw chicken in the slow cooker, with celery, carrots, garlic, onion, wine and spices.

You need:

• 1/2 cup of red wine
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 small white onion
• 1 celery stalk, cut in half
• 1 carrot, cut in half
• sprinkle of herbs de provence, thyme, or herb combination of your choice
• tin foil

The slow cooked chicken right before broiling. It would still be tasty to eat it like this, but I like the crispy skin a bout in the oven gives me.

Directions:

1. Crumple three pieces of aluminum foil and place in the middle of your slow cooker.
2. Add wine, garlic, onion, celery and carrot
3. Place chicken on top of aluminum foil. (You may have to push the chicken down a bit so it'll all fit in there!)
4. Sprinkle chicken with herbs, salt and pepper.
5. Set slow cooker to high and cook for 1/2 hour per pound.
6. When ready, stick a meat thermometer into leg to ensure it is done. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan and set oven to 500º Fahrenheit.
7. Broil for 8-10 minutes, or until skin is golden brown.
8. Serve with roast root vegetables, mashed potatoes, or anything else you'd like!

The best part of this recipe? After your done cooking everything, you'll have a considerable amount of jus left over from the chicken. Whisk it with some cornstarch for a truly delicious gravy, or save it in your fridge or freezer for at-the-ready soup stock when you need it in a pinch. (It's so much better than bouillon.)

Yup, chicken in a crock pot is the gift that keeps on giving.

Vitamin Water Infusions

Vitamin Water Infusions

 

Creating your own vitamin water is one of the simplest things to do! All you need is some fruit, herbs and water and you are set. Don't settle for the "vitamin waters" you might notice in grocery stores. Those waters are full of artificial chemical flavourings, plenty of refined sugar and bone dissolving acids all of which promote illness and disease. 

Making your own vitamin water infusions is quick and easy! They are packed with natural vitamins and minerals (not synthetic alterations of them) and thus they are better recognized and utilized in the body. Make sure to create larger batches so that these waters will last you all throughout the week!

Directions:

1. Pick a non-citrus fruit - I like to pick things like berries, kiwi, mango or pineapple. 

2. Pick a citrus fruit - you can choose from orange slices to lemon or lime slices!

3. Add herbs - choose things like mint, rosemary, basil or other favourite herbs

Once you have decided on the combination you want to use (and you may add as little or as much as you please of each - I like to add in about 1/2 cup of each fruit and 1/4 cup of herbs for 2 litres of water), put them into a large jug of water and let them soak in the water in a fridge overnight. In the morning you will have yourself a wonderful vitamin infused water that you can enjoy over the day!

Favourite combinations of mine:

1. Strawberry, lemon, mint

2. Lemon, lime, mint

3. Kiwi, lemon, lime, mint

4. Pineapple, lemon, basil

5. Mango, orange, rosemary

*You may also choose to add some ice to your water for an even cooler treat!