crock-pot lemon chicken

We loooove this melt in your mouth lemony chicken!  After cooking in the crock pot it is just falling apart and so full of flavor. 

First off you mix together the spices and herbs, then rub onto the chicken.  I have used whole chicken breasts, but when I made this I was a little short on time so I cut the chicken into strips. 

After the spices, it's time to brown the chicken in butter...

After all of the chicken is browned, move it to the crock-pot.  To the leftover butter in the pan, add the water, lemon juice, garlic and bouillon.  Bring to a boil.

I usually double or triple the sauce ingredients just to make sure there will be plenty.  After bringing it to a boil, pour over chicken in crock-pot.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours, basting occasionally.  Thicken the cooking juices and serve with chicken and rice.

This is such a flavorful comforting meal.  It is often requested in this house by everyone!

Crock-pot lemon chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts
 1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 TB butter
1/4 cup water
3 TB lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used garlic powder in with the spices)
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
hot cooked rice

Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  Combine the oregano, seasoned salt and pepper; rub over chicken.  In a skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken in butter; transfer to a 5 qt. crock-pot.  Add water, lemon juice, garlic and bouillon to the skillet; bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.  Baste the chicken.  If desired, thicken cooking juices and serve over chicken and rice.

Cranberry Nut Bread

As this time of year rolls around..my family starts begging me to make cranberry bread!  Since you can only buy cranberries for a few months out of the year, we always buy some to use fresh and some to freeze.  I actually made this with frozen berries but it definitely works either way.  You can also get this recipe on pretty much any bag of cranberries.

First off you mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the shortening.



 

Next stir in the orange juice, egg, and orange zest...just enough to moisten.  Then fold in the cranberries and nuts.  I used my food processor to chop them.  Before I had one, I just used a knife and a cutting board, but those cranberries are roly little stinkers and it's definitely faster to use the processor...just make sure you don't pulverize them.  You want fairly big chunks of berries.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.  One tip: to keep your bread from sinking..only grease the bottom of the pan.  That way the bread clings to the sides as it bakes!

Mmmm..see the cranberries, pecans, and that orange zest?  Yum!

Cranberry Nut Bread
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 TB grated orange peel
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 TB shortening
3/4 cup orange juice
1 egg well beaten

Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening.  Stir in orange juice, egg and orange peel just enough to moisten.  Fold in cranberries and nuts.  Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Test with a toothpick.  Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan.