This Recipe is Greek to Me
Greek Chicken
From Fix It and Forget It Cookbook by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good
Makes 4-6 servings
4-6 potatoes, quartered
2-3 lbs. chicken pieces
2 large onions, quartered
1 whole bulb garlic, minced
3 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1. Place potatoes in bottom of slow cooker. Add chicken, onion and garlic. Sprinkle with seasonings. Top with oil.
2. Cover. Cook on High 5-6 hours, or on Low 9-10 hours.
Taking Flylady’s advice, I try to think about dinner at breakfast time. She sends me a handy email every morning that says, “What’s for dinner?” I groan and think about the dregs in the fridge.
Yesterday morning I happily remembered that my brilliant husband pulled some chicken out of the freezer the night before. We are having chicken for dinner! But the questions nagged. “What KIND of chicken? And when are you going to cook it?”
Back to the fridge. There are two packages of pita bread abandoned in the bottom drawer. There is half a cucumber languishing in a Tupperware Fridge Smart container, one vent open. Pita + cucumber = some sort of Mediterranean chicken!
Even though I REALLY do not feel like cooking dinner at breakfast time, I know that it will make me a much happier person come 5 o’clock. I hug the crock pot as I carry it from the storage shelf to the counter. I love you!
My next best friend after the crock pot is its side kick: The Fix it and Forget it Cookbook. Let’s see. Something that will taste good in a pita. Chicken Casablanca? Too many ingredients. Chicken Kapaman? Too tomato-ey. Greek Chicken? I have most of the ingredients (there aren’t many). Not much chopping involved. Only step required. Bingo!
I know what the recipe says, but I did not have any potatoes. I put the onions on the bottom instead. I often forget that, when crock pot cooking, the veggies go in first. They cook better that way and so does the meat that goes on top.
I was using such a large package of boneless, skinless chicken that I did not worry too much about measuring the seasonings. By the time I got to the garlic, my youngest chef was helping. We put several small cloves in. (The Pampered Chef garlic press was very handy at this point.) She was in charge of the oregano and olive oil. The chicken came out very flavorful and mysteriously moist!
Ah--the cucumber. I cut it into small pieces and put them in a Tupperware container. I poured oil, vinegar, salt and pepper over them. I put the lid on and shook. Presto! By the time dinner rolled around we would have marinated cucumbers to put on our Greek chicken inside our pita bread. By the way, I know you want to use olive oil on these cukes, because you are thinking of all things Mediterranean--but don’t. Olive oil solidifies when cold. Instead of taking a savory cucumber salad out of the fridge, you might have a container full of sour cukes and globs of oil. Remember, cooking is science!
The house smelled so good of simmering Greek chicken that my meat-free husband was even drooling. He could not resist the temptation and had to try some along side his beans and rice. He was glad he did!
Incidentally, you should know that I never follow a recipe (or any instructions for that matter) exactly. Not only did I omit the potatoes, but I made a few other changes as well. When the cooking time was about done, I stuck my kitchen shears into the crock pot and cut up the boneless chicken breasts. Now we’d have chunks of chicken to put into pita pockets. Of course, I had to taste this creation before serving it. I decided it was crying out for lemon juice. I sprinkled some into the crock pot and put the lid back on.
We will extend this meal by smearing hummus on the pitas next time. Maybe I will buy another cucumber and some plain yogurt. Then I can make cucumber yogurt sauce, use up my last onion, and enjoy a third interpretation of GREEK CHICKEN.
From Fix It and Forget It Cookbook by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good
Makes 4-6 servings
4-6 potatoes, quartered
2-3 lbs. chicken pieces
2 large onions, quartered
1 whole bulb garlic, minced
3 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1. Place potatoes in bottom of slow cooker. Add chicken, onion and garlic. Sprinkle with seasonings. Top with oil.
2. Cover. Cook on High 5-6 hours, or on Low 9-10 hours.
Taking Flylady’s advice, I try to think about dinner at breakfast time. She sends me a handy email every morning that says, “What’s for dinner?” I groan and think about the dregs in the fridge.
Yesterday morning I happily remembered that my brilliant husband pulled some chicken out of the freezer the night before. We are having chicken for dinner! But the questions nagged. “What KIND of chicken? And when are you going to cook it?”
Back to the fridge. There are two packages of pita bread abandoned in the bottom drawer. There is half a cucumber languishing in a Tupperware Fridge Smart container, one vent open. Pita + cucumber = some sort of Mediterranean chicken!
Even though I REALLY do not feel like cooking dinner at breakfast time, I know that it will make me a much happier person come 5 o’clock. I hug the crock pot as I carry it from the storage shelf to the counter. I love you!
My next best friend after the crock pot is its side kick: The Fix it and Forget it Cookbook. Let’s see. Something that will taste good in a pita. Chicken Casablanca? Too many ingredients. Chicken Kapaman? Too tomato-ey. Greek Chicken? I have most of the ingredients (there aren’t many). Not much chopping involved. Only step required. Bingo!
I know what the recipe says, but I did not have any potatoes. I put the onions on the bottom instead. I often forget that, when crock pot cooking, the veggies go in first. They cook better that way and so does the meat that goes on top.
I was using such a large package of boneless, skinless chicken that I did not worry too much about measuring the seasonings. By the time I got to the garlic, my youngest chef was helping. We put several small cloves in. (The Pampered Chef garlic press was very handy at this point.) She was in charge of the oregano and olive oil. The chicken came out very flavorful and mysteriously moist!
Ah--the cucumber. I cut it into small pieces and put them in a Tupperware container. I poured oil, vinegar, salt and pepper over them. I put the lid on and shook. Presto! By the time dinner rolled around we would have marinated cucumbers to put on our Greek chicken inside our pita bread. By the way, I know you want to use olive oil on these cukes, because you are thinking of all things Mediterranean--but don’t. Olive oil solidifies when cold. Instead of taking a savory cucumber salad out of the fridge, you might have a container full of sour cukes and globs of oil. Remember, cooking is science!
The house smelled so good of simmering Greek chicken that my meat-free husband was even drooling. He could not resist the temptation and had to try some along side his beans and rice. He was glad he did!
Incidentally, you should know that I never follow a recipe (or any instructions for that matter) exactly. Not only did I omit the potatoes, but I made a few other changes as well. When the cooking time was about done, I stuck my kitchen shears into the crock pot and cut up the boneless chicken breasts. Now we’d have chunks of chicken to put into pita pockets. Of course, I had to taste this creation before serving it. I decided it was crying out for lemon juice. I sprinkled some into the crock pot and put the lid back on.
We will extend this meal by smearing hummus on the pitas next time. Maybe I will buy another cucumber and some plain yogurt. Then I can make cucumber yogurt sauce, use up my last onion, and enjoy a third interpretation of GREEK CHICKEN.
Comments
love
the husband