Ever since my best friend, Celine, introduced me to this "greek-style chicken" slow cooker recipe, I've been in love. It's so quick to prepare and very tasty!! I have to say, I've probably made this recipe over 100 times now, I don't even need the recipe to look at. I just eyeball all the measurements and toss them into the slow cooker.
Ericka truly loves this chicken recipe. She can't get enough of the chicken plus the broth with the rice. She's always asking for more. And when my toddler eats, it makes mama very happy!
Here's what you need: (the basic recipe)
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
hot cooked orzo or rice
1. Remove visible fat from chicken; sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on all sides. Place in slow cooker.
2. Add broth, lemon, olives, garlic and oregano to slow cooker.
3. Cover; cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours or until chicken is tender OR on HIGH for 4 hours. Serve on top of orzo or rice.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Now for me since I've been doing this recipe for about 2 years now, here are my adjustments:
-I buy the chicken thighs WITH bone and skin. Without bone or skin, you lose a lot of flavour. If you're watching calories or avoiding fat.. Get the skinless boneless kind but be warned.. You will lose a lot of moistness and flavour flav!!!:)
-I leave the fat on the chicken. I just open my chicken package, add the salt and pepper on the skin side, then brown the skin on the hot skillet. I like to make it crispy and brown because in the slow cooker, especially if it's under the broth, it will get gooey. I like gooey but it's best if the skin is brown and crispy.
-I leave the fat on the chicken. I just open my chicken package, add the salt and pepper on the skin side, then brown the skin on the hot skillet. I like to make it crispy and brown because in the slow cooker, especially if it's under the broth, it will get gooey. I like gooey but it's best if the skin is brown and crispy.
-I like a lot of broth because I pour it over my rice in the end. It's so tasty. So I buy a carton of chicken broth and pour about 3/4 of it into my slow cooker. (Note the picture below). The broth reduces as everything cooks, so keep that in mind also.
-I use more than 1 clove of garlic. I use about 6. I love to have the taste of garlic be a big part of this recipe. Minced or finely chopped works.
-I add about 3/4 of my sliced lemon to the slow cooker then squeeze the rest of the lemon juice into the slow cooker. I don't like *too* much lemon rind in there, but definitely love the lemon taste.
-I add more than 1/2 teaspoon oregano. I like A LOT. I eyeball it but I'll add enough to cover all the chicken and the broth too. I don't think you can have too much! ;)
-Because I don't cut any of the fat off the thighs, if I get a chance halfway through the cooking process, I'll spoon out the fat. Be careful not to spoon out the yummy broth. You'll notice the fat is at the top and the cloudy broth is at the bottom. So skim the top off of fat, if you choose. I also give my broth a taste to see if I need to add more garlic or salt and pepper or even oregano. I'll use dried garlic powder at this point.
-Start cooking the rice about 30 mins before the chicken is done or when you want to eat. I use white rice. I've never tried orzo before.
-The chicken falls off the bone... it's so moist, tender and soooo delicious!
Enjoy!
Let me know what you think!!
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| Browning the skin side first |
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| All the ingredients added. Note: I try not to cover the chicken in the broth or you will get gooey skin. I like a lot of broth but not too much. |
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| My greek-style chicken served on top of rice. Delicious! |
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| She seriously loves this chicken recipe! |
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