Who doesn’t love a good Crock-pot® recipe?! Here is the converted Crock-pot® recipe for my melt-in-your-mouth, Roasted Whole Chicken with Vegetables and Potatoes. It is just as easy, but functionally different because many people leave their slow cooker on while at work… NOT their oven.
If this is your first time seeing either of the two recipes, you do not know the back story of how I came across my love for whole chickens. I will not bore you with the details, but let me just tell you that you will fall in love with them too. Here is a spiel from the other recipe:
The preparation for this meal is very easy and quick, so if you did work a long day, it still would not take much effort. One way you can refrain from doing any work on a specific day or evening is preparing the pan the day or night before. If you have a big enough fridge, it is harmless to prepare it and store it overnight. I personally like to cut up the vegetables and potatoes when I meal prep for the week and store them in a Ziploc® bag until the night I roast the meal. That way all I have to do is prepare the chicken, dump in the veggies, add the liquid and spices, and put it in the oven!
You prepare the dish the same way, but use a Crock-pot® instead of a roasting pan. Sadly, my roaster is much bigger than my slow cooker, so in this recipe I suggest you omit or lessen the potatoes and cook them on the side. If you have a super huge Crock-pot®, then feel free to dump 4-6 diced potatoes in! Just repeat the same step for the potatoes as you would with the vegetables
Hop on over to your local grocery store and buy a whole chicken. A 3-4 lb. one provides my husband and me with at least four meals. Generally we have more left over. If you are by yourself, you can also use the leftovers to make soup and other recipes that use shredded chicken. Just don’t forget to watch out for the bones! The preparation for the chicken is very easy. If you get the kind with the insides, remove them and wash the chicken. Then pat it dry with some paper towels. The chicken can then be placed in the middle of the Crock-pot® and covered with the olive oil, lemon juice, and spices.
As mentioned in the other recipe, you can use any vegetable combination you would like. The beauty of this recipe is it’s versatility with flavors and textures. My personal favorite and the one I will be using for the recipe is a mixture of carrots, red and white onions, and cabbage. I also like to switch it up sometimes by substituting mushrooms, zucchini, or yellow squash. Place the diced veggies randomly around the prepared chicken in the Crock-pot®.
I do place about 4 inches of water in the bottom of the Crock-pot® to make sure that nothing burns because it will be cooking over a long period of time. Turn the Crock-pot® to low and set a timer for 8 hours. I personally enjoy having it cook overnight for lunch the next day, or while I’m at work for that night’s dinner. Mix-and-match your favorite vegetables with this whole chicken for a delicious meal!
Notes
With the Crock-pot®, the chicken tends to fall apart easier. Be cautious when eating the vegetables and broth from the bottom that there may be bones present.
Ingredients
- 3-4lb. whole chicken
- 4 whole carrots peeled and coined
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 1/2 head green cabbage diced
- 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon halved
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 Tbs. oregano
- 1 Tbs. steak seasoning black pepper, sea salt, red pepper, paprika
- optional 4-6 potatoes
Instructions
- Remove any chicken remains from inside the cavity and wash it out thoroughly; Wash the outside of the chicken and pat dry with paper towels; Place the chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker
- Brush (or spray) chicken with olive oil
- Squeeze 1 half of the lemon over the entire chicken; Set other half aside
- Evenly place diced carrots, onions, and cabbage around the chicken
- Place about four inches of water in the bottom of the Crock-pot®, being cautious to not wash the juices off of the chicken
- Squeeze 2nd half of lemon over veggies
- Evenly sprinkle each measurement of the spices over top of the entire chicken, leaving a little of each to sprinkle over the veggie mixture
- Turn the Crock-pot® to low and cook for 8 hours (the inside temperature of the chicken should read at least 160° F)
- Carve and enjoy!
- potatoes can be cooked with the chicken and veggies, but it is recommended that they are cooked on the side
Again, whole chicken recipes are not the prettiest to take pictures of, but it will definitely taste… uh… pretty amazing. 😛
Enjoy!
♥
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