Lazy Days Faux Roast Chicken (via the slow cooker express)

or a figure friendly, full of flavor, and ready when you are chicken dinner

It's no secret if you read this blog that comfort foods are one of my great loves in life.  They fill you up both physically and emotionally, they bring a sense of peace to the day (if only for a few minutes), and they are just down right tasty.  But that's just my opinion, you'll have to have to decide for yourself.  Now, I am always looking for shortcuts to that "comfort food" flavor that either take out some of the effort or some of the time and what I have for you today does both of these quite nicely.  It makes the process incredibly simple and the food is prepped ahead of time so it can be waiting for you later in the day when you are ready for dinner.  Enter - the slow cooker.

The slow cooker has many merits, and I sing them out every chance I get as you may well know just by looking through some of the recipes in my collection here (see top tabs).  One interesting thing about this recipe in particular though, is that it did not come about in a pre-work prep flurry of activity like most of the ones I use do.
It came about on a Sunday afternoon when I was craving some delicious comfort food and was sufficiently lazy in regards to my desire to do much, if any, prep work.  So I pulled out my slow cooker, a few chicken breasts, some stock and a touch of butter for moisture, some onions as a physical and flavor base, a few spices for that soul warming taste, and there you have it!  So simple, so delicious.

Just check it out, I think you'll agree:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp light butter

Slurry - 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water

Hardware: Slow cooker

1.  Toss the roughly chopped onions and minced garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker, add the chicken stock and lay the chicken breasts on top in a single layer, it's ok if the press against each other to get all snuggled in.

2.  Season the tops of the chicken evenly with the spices and place 1/2 tbsp of butter, cut in half so there are two pieces, on top each.

3.  Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

4.  Gently remove the chicken to a plate.  Then strain out the onions with a slotted spoon and discard.  Turn the slow cooker to high, if not already on that setting, and whisk in the slurry to create a gravy.  Serve the chicken topped with a spoonful of gravy.

If you like dark meat, you can toss in some boneless and skinless chicken thighs too at the start but you may need to do one less chicken breast to fit them (depending on the size of your cooker).  This pairs perfectly with baked potatoes and some fresh steamed veggies, or even a scoop of mac and cheese for the kids - or the kids at heart.  You can adjust the seasonings as you like, I find that the combination of Rosemary and Sage really work as an earthy note of comfort but your tastes may lead otherwise.  As always - take into your home, give it a chance, and make it your own.  Enjoy!