Adventures in Crock-Potting.....

Wow, we've been a bit behind on the blogging bit. Our family is finally in the swing of things with school back in session and back to planning our evening around our favorite fall line-ups on television. So to work around the Monday night line-up on CBS, Survivor on Wednesdays and I about forgot my oldest having Cub Scout meeting on Thursdays we're Crock-pot cooking around here. As much inspiration as I have found from these lovely gals at Crockpotgirls(dot)com, it's made me also realize how much time I spend cooking while I could be playing with my kids, reading the next best seller, or spending time with my husband watching "How I Met Your Mother" or "Survivor". So I'm doing my own 
"Adventures in Crock-Potting" series on here.  Not all of my post will be Crock pot related, but this fall and winter will have lots of quick & delicious meals to make it a Crock-pot. Hopefully, this will catch on better than the Fabulous Friday thing I tried. :( Plus, it reminds me of that great 80's movie. You know, the one with Elizabeth Shue , where she takes the kids she's babysitting to downtown Chicago to help a friend. Good movie. Anyway, so today's adventure is a simple twist on a recipe that I posted several months ago on here: Roast Chicken with Pears.

 I was going to fix a simple beer can chicken this evening, but I drank my last Halcyon last night and didn't want to run out and buy a six pack for the chicken tonight. Well, I could have, but then I'd have 5 extra Halcyon's calling my name from the fridge. This beer is so far the best thing that has come out of Kansas. Check out my personal blog to read about our tour to the local brewery where Halcyon is made. But, instead I decided to cook this favorite of mine and with a bit of inspiration. My aunt back in NC who reads our blog, wrote me and told me how much she enjoyed this meal, but it was a bit labor intensive and saved it for the weekends. I didn't blame her, because it is a chore to roast the chicken and veggies after a long day at work.

Thinking to myself: Why not try it in the crock-pot? Well, I did. :D

Today I had everything on hand to make this dish, except the fresh pears, but I had canned. Starting the same way I did with the normal recipe, I used a few red potatoes that I quartered (in lieu of turnips), baby carrots (in lieu of parsnips) and an onion quartered, mixed with balsamic vinegar, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper.  **This step can be done the night before and placed in a gallon zip top bag with the marinade in the fridge, same goes for the chicken.
 I had a whole chicken, but it didn't fit in the crock-pot and had me cussing, so I chopped it up into quarters, coated it with some olive oil, rosemary and salt and pepper. Then I  arranged it skin side up on top of the vegetables and topped it with two 15 oz cans of drained pear halves and a cup of dried cranberries that had soaked in water for a few minutes. (add some of that water to the crock-pot). I cooked it on low for 5-6 hours. When your time is up, preheat the oven *Broil* and grab a large baking sheet. Carefully scoop the pears off the top and lay them on a small plate while you remove the chicken from the crock-pot and arrange on the baking sheet along with the veggies. Add the pears to the baking sheet on top of the veggies, mix 1 Tbsp of honey with 1 Tbsp of EVOO and brush on the chicken and pears. Broil for 10 minutes until the skin begins to brown and crisp.  Remove and serve while hot. 

The only down side of using a whole chicken and including the breast was that it got a little dry, but other than that, it was a delicious dinner. Enjoy. :D