Slow Cooker Caribbean Jerk Chicken Recipe

Happy Friday! It's the last day of September, which means CROCKTOBER begins tomorrow! 

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

 

Today's recipe is one of my new favorite chicken recipes. I used a whole chicken, but this spice rub would work great on whatever you've got in the house---it might be really fun to do party drumsticks or wings, too.

I skin my chickens because of my weird issues. If you don't want to skin the bird, you don't have to. You can also insert a rack under the bird to let the drippings settle away from the bird, if you'd like. If you don't have a wire rack, you can make a foil snake (3 feet long, then twist up and create a coil at the bottom of the pot) and use that instead.

The chicken pictured was skinned as much as I could with poultry scissors, then cooked in the crock, breast-down. I didn't throw in potatoes or use a rack, but you certainly can if you'd like.

The Ingredients.

serves 4 to 6

4-5 pound whole chicken

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon all spice (not a typo, I used a whole tablespoon!)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3 limes, juiced (about 1/3 cup)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Skin the bird as much as you can (or don't. it's your choice.) and place it into the slow cooker. I prefer to cook my chickens upside down, to keep the breast meat as juicy as possible. Make sure all the giblets, neck, etc. are out!

In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and dry spices. Rub this spice and sugar mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Pour on the lime juice.

Cover, and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4. Check doneness with a meat thermometer, or cut in to make sure the meat is no longer pink. Usually the bird falls completely apart--which is great. Moist, juicy, wondefully-flavored meat.

You can serve with lime wedges for a bit of extra citrus flavor, if you'd like.

mmm.

The Verdict.

My family and my friend Sharyl's family ate this chicken and we all loved it. Even my super-picky 10-year-old (I can NOT believe she's ten. #nothappyaboutthis) ate her serving and said it was good.

Sharyl asked for the recipe, which is always a good sign.

The bit of heat from the cayenne is there--- but not enough that any of the kids (six in all) complained. The pan drippings would be great to cook your rice in as a side dish.

more chicken? no problem!

lemon roasted

herb garden roasted

chicken with summer tomatoes

Vietnamese roasted

20-40 garlic clove

rotisserie-style

Have a great weekend! 

Read More

Slow Cooking in the Real World

Crock-Pot plugged in the garage, on the dryer

We're doing a tiny bit of remodeling right now. Nothing fancy---- we're (and by we, I mean not me) tearing up the linoleum that came with the house and having tile installed in the kitchen.

This was my anniversary present to Adam. I promised that if he got me tile, I'd never again complain about the flooring.

I'm such a giver.

the last of the nasty linoleum

Because our kitchen has pretty much been rendered useless (the refrigerator is plugged in the dining room, and the stove/oven combo and dishwasher are under a sheet behind the couch) I've been needing to utilize my own advice and use the MANY MANY MANY slow cookers we own to get dinner on the table.

Crock-Pot loaded with baked potatoes
in an otherwise unusable kitchen

and it's been kind of fun.

The kids wanted a baked potato bar the first night. No problem. Then they wanted brown sugar chicken. Not an issue---I already had it frozen in a ziplock, so I thawed it in the fridge overnight then squeezed the contents into the slow cooker in the morning. Tonight, we're having baked sweet potatoes and foil-packet tilapia (the fish won't go on until later this afternoon).

and so far, so good. 

the coffee pot is also a necessity

I get a lot of emails, and some of my favorites are from readers who use their cookers in non-traditional ways. Last night I got an email from a construction worker who leaves a crockpot plugged in the trailer so he doesn't have to rely on fastfood or soggy sandwiches for lunch and dinner.

I like hearing from people who travel with their crockpots and plug it in the hotel room while they are out sight-seeing for the day.

I have great kids, but after a long day of vacationing, sometimes they aren't up to "restaurant manners"--- and it's nice to come back to a pot full of Korean Ribs or BBQ Beef and Bean sandwiches.

My friend Mir brings her crockpot camping. They have a pop-up trailer and she likes knowing dinner is taken care of before leaving camp for the day to play in the water. The crockpot also came in handy when an unexpected rain storm left barbecuing outside impossible.

We recently got back from a roadtrip to Oregon, and stopped at a few pioneer museums that were built along the Oregon Trail. Talk about hardships! A bit of rain, a torn up kitchen? That's nothing.

We are so lucky to be living in the time we are living----roughing it just really isn't roughing it anymore.

What about you? Do you have any odd or different uses for the slow cooker?

Have a wonderfully great day.

Read More

Honey Garlic Chicken Slow Cooker Recipe

Good morning! It's the first day of school in our house, and I'm typing super quick to get this recipe out to you so I can bask in the fact that the baby is napping, the sun is shining, and the HOUSE IS QUIET.

QUIET QUIET QUIET

I may go do cartwheels on the back lawn...

right after I watch a soap opera marathon while eating a box of bon-bons...

This is a quick, easy, and super-tasty chicken recipe. I'd highly recommend using thighs--- they hold up better in the slow cooker and dark meat just tastes better. :-) I use boneless, skinless thighs. If your thighs have bones and skin, fish them out of the pot before serving (the chicken will separate from the bone and it'll be pretty easy).

The Ingredients.

serves 4

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 or one thigh per family member)
3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup  soy sauce (La Choy or Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey


The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker (if using a 6-quart, this will cook faster. Check after 3 hours on high, 5 hours on low).
Put the chicken into your cooker. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, then pour evenly over the top.
Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 (I'd go with low---).
Serve with basmati rice and steamed or roasted vegetables.

The Verdict.

My kids adore this chicken. The ketchup and honey taste a bit like barbecue sauce, but slightly more tart. The basil gives it a different, herby flavor which I like a lot. If you are into freezer meals, this is a great candidate--- load all the ingredients into a freezer bag (raw chicken, the sauce ingredients) and then freeze. Thaw the bag overnight in the fridge, then plop the ingredients into your cooker for a fast morning plug-in.

Enjoy!

I've been doing a GiveAway a Day for the whole month of September. Today I'm giving away 5 copies of my new book, Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life. Click on over for your chance to win!

Read More