Crock-Pot Honey Lemon Chicken with Potatoes
Ingredients:
6-8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or 4 chicken breasts, or 8-10 drumsticks)
Salt and black pepper
1½ pounds baby potatoes (or 1 ½ pounds russets, peeled and cut into 1½ inch cubes)
1 small onion, chopped (or 1 teaspoon onion powder)
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
1 large lemon, thinly sliced
¼ cup honey
¼ cup chicken stock, broth, or water
Instructions:
Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. In a cold skillet, place chicken skin side down into pan and bring up to medium-high heat and brown on both sides. (If using any cut other than thighs, preheat the pan with oil in It and then add the chicken to hot pan to brown it. Starting with a cold pan simply renders more fat from the thighs so it doesn’t wind up in the final product.)
Meanwhile, scatter potatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and lemon slices in the bowl of a crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the browned chicken over the potatoes and drizzle with honey. Add stock, cover and cook, undisturbed, for 4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW.
If you want to get fancy, you can garnish this dish with some strips of lemon zest, a handful of chopped parsley, a sprinkling of pine nuts and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
(Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe.)
