Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken

    In the summer of 2014 I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to Europe. I was thrilled our first stop was Greece, as I had been learning Greek independently for three years at the time. I fell in love with the culture and the country, ad all of the life lessons I learned that I will carry with me forever.

Off the coast of Hydra, my favorite island we visited!

Yes, I'm riding a mule in a dress. I make it work.

     Greece has a lot more to offer than just beautiful scenery. Let's talk cuisine. A key element of mediterranean food is citrus. Many meals include lemon and herbs with sweet pine or citrus notes, especially meals that include chicken. So as a tribute to my lovely days in Greece, I'm going to teach you how to make mediterranean chicken in one of the best culinary inventions-- the crockpot.

     For days I don't feel like cooking or cleaning a ton of dishes, my crock pot is a god send. To me, a good crockpot meal is savory and effortless. This mediterranean chicken is no exception. There are a few easy tricks to making this chicken as juicy and flavorful as possible. Soaking the chicken in two cups of water and one tablespoon of salt one hour prior to cooking will prevent the chicken from drying out in the cooking process. Also, before placing the chicken in the crockpot, we are going to season and tenderize it. This not only embed the seasoning into the chicken, but will allow it to cook evenly. If you don't have a tenderizer at home, you can use a skillet or mashed potato scooper. Really anything metal that will create blunt force. Don't be afraid to get creative. Cous cous would have been more mediterranean than wild rice, but I love the additional flavor it brings to the plate.

Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken

          Prep time: 1hr 5mins    Cooktime:4hrs  Yeilds 5 chicken breasts           

Ingredients

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lemon, zested and sliced

peppercorn

marjoram

rosemary

basil

1 box of wild rice

parsley to garnish (optional)

1. Lay pieces of chicken on a cutting board. Begin to sprinkle marjoram, rosemary, basil, lemon zest, and cracked peppercorn onto the top surface of the chicken. Tenderize the meat, embedding the spices into the chicken.

2. Pour two cups of chicken stock into the crockpot and add chicken. Try not to stack chicken and line the bottom of the pot evenly as best as you can. Place lemon slices on top of the chicken. Cook on high for about 4 hours, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

3. When chicken is cooked or close to being cooked, begin making the rice. Follow directions on the back of the box, but use 1 tbsp butter instead of oil. After rice is cooked completely, stir in a splash of chicken stock for flavor.

4. Serve chicken over rice. Garnish will parsley if desired.  Καλή όρεξη! Enjoy your meal! :)

Cooking confession: I got fancy with the plating because I watched too much food network that day.