Lemon Garlic Chicken (for slow cooker)

Without getting all personal and such, let’s just say that sometimes my relationship with my father is strained.   He lives (depending on the time of year) at least three and up to twelve hours away.

Armed with some sage advice from The Hubs and realizing that no one is getting any younger,  I planned on spending part of the holidays with him.   It was bitter sweet  as it was the first time in probably fifteen years that we have actually spent Christmas Eve together.  The foggy Christmas Eve morning 2016 found The Hubs and I, armed with a cooler full of food, headed east to Missouri.

I told Dad and his wife that I would be bringing a late lunch and that we did NOT need to go out to eat. (Dad is diabetic and eats out WAY too much in my opinion.)   To prove to him (and his wife) that one could still eat well at home, I researched diabetic friendly recipes and decided to go well-armed.

Here’s the menu I came up with:

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Green Beans with Mushrooms

Garlic Cauliflower with Sesame Seeds

Red Wine and Maple Glazed Carrots*

Green Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Toasted Walnuts and Blackberry Vinaigrette

Sugarless Applesauce Cake with Walnuts and Cranberries

*The carrot dish may not have been diabetic friendly per se, but it was delicious and I had been wanting to make this dish for some time.

Since we were departing that evening, I whipped up some Low-Sugar Pumpkin Spice Muffins for them to have for Christmas morning breakfast the next day.   (There was also enough leftovers for them to have another meal from the above menu.)  All of these recipes can be made the day before and easily reheated.

Here’s the first recipe I wanted to share from this special meal.

Lemon Garlic Chicken for Slow Cooker
based on Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken

1 T. dried oregano
1/2 t. seasoning salt
1/2 t.  pepper
6 skinless chicken breast halves, rinsed
2 T. olive oil
1/2 c. low sodium chicken stock
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
water as needed
1 T. dried parsley

Combine oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub all of mixture into chicken.

Heat oil in a large skillet.  Brown chicken.  (Do not over cook; you just want some color.) Transfer browned chicken to slow cooker.

Place stock, lemon juice, and garlic in the skillet to deglaze the pan.  Bring to boil, loosening browned bits from skillet. Pour over chicken.

Cover. Cook on high for about 90 minutes to two hours (depending on your cooker).

Add parsley and baste chicken. Cover. Cook on High 15-30 minutes, until chicken is tender.

I almost cooked this too long and it was definitely “fork tender.”

I also sautéed some lemon slices until they had a bit of color to garnish the dish.

Our late lunch evolved into lots of story telling and I enjoyed the visit.  In fact, it may have made my holidays.

Because the dishes came out so good and lots of us are trying to turn over a new leaf for the New Year, I plan on sharing the rest of these dishes with you soon.

These dishes all travel well and I made them all the day before and then reheated them quickly before our late lunch.

Packaged and ready to go.

Here’s to being kinder and less-selfish in 2017!!!!

Stay tuned for the remainder of these recipes to kick start your new year.