Chipotle Cilantro Lime Chicken

Another whole bird crockpot win!

I'm seriously loving this probe and my crockpot right now. I don't know why I haven't considered using the probe on all my poultry before, but I'm a changed woman. All the birds from the pot have been juicy and delicious! It might be able to be seasoned with just plain salt and pepper and I'd think it was amazing. Though, I do love me some spices. So maybe that is going too far.

For those of you who want to know what crockpot I refer to, here is the link:
(Hamilton Beach 33967 Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker)

Anyway, I am going to cry the day this baby goes to slow-cooker heaven.

By I digress...

Chipotle Lime Chicken. Yumm! And spicy to boot! I mean like, I needed some veggies with every bite. But I'm a weenie. My husband and kids thought it was amazing and not too hot. So it's probably a medium-hot recipe.

Here is what you will need:
Two large freezer bags. One labeled with Chipotle Cilantro Lime (cook on low 5-6 hours)

Cut 1 lime in half and place in the cavity of the chicken. Then put it in the unlabeled bag.

Now get your food processor out and add the following:

1/2 cup of lime juice (about 2-3 limes). Did you know if your microwave your limes for 20-30 seconds the limes are easier to juice? Try it.
1 bunch of cilantro
3-5 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon of Chipotle powder,
1 table spoon of ground cumin

Whirrrrrrr this until it's paste. I added a little more olive oil then asked for, mostly because it wasn't pasty enough yet. 

Now put half the mixture in the front of the bag and half in the back next to the chicken. Then seal it tight. Like get all the air out of that bad boy. If you have  seal a meal, now would be the ULTIMATE time to use it. Once the air is out, move the pasty mixture all around the bag to cover every part of the chicken. 

Once you make sure again all the air is out, put it in the labeled bag and freeze.

Be sure to defrost a full day in the frig before you cook it. So, 24 hours. Take it out the night before or else you will have a half frozen chicken! No bueano! 

Place your chicken in your slow cooker along with any marinade left over in your bag (I scraped mine clean). Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I would recommend closer to 6 with a probe. It will be glorious.

And the more bits you scoop from the crockpot and put onto the meat, the spicier it will be. But sooo good.

Chicken wrapped Asparagus

This recipe is so simple is should be illegal.

Chicken.

Asparagus.

Garlic.

Salt and Pepper.

That is it. No really. The first time I had this meal I was at my good friend Eryn's house. She'd pre-pounded her fresh chicken breasts and froze them between parchment... then just thawed to slap these bag boys together. Let me tell you what, I was not expecting the flavor to be as it was. In fact, when I decided to make this, I  made a gravy just for my husband... because he needs flavor explosions. But it was good enough to not need it (though he used it anyway).

So, how then can we make this into a freezer meal? Quite simple. Assemble ahead of time and wrap in foil and VOILÀ, you have prepackaged go to meals. And goodness are they easy.

What I used:

4 chicken breasts

1 head of garlic (more like 4-5 cloves)

2 bunches of asparagus (snapped at the bend)
Salt and Pepper

First off, you have to get the chicken thinner then then fat ole chicken breasts. Now, I've never EVER ever filleted a chicken breast so, this had me a bit nervous. But I just used a VERY sharp knife (sharpened it immediately before) and went to cutting. Surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. 

I then stuck the chicken breasts INSIDE a plastic bad and pounded the heck out of them with an ice cream scoop. I know, I think I'm supposed to use a mallet, but I'm improvising here. I beat mine to pretty thin but not so thin it's falling to bits.

Then I stuck 5-6 sprigs of asparagus into the middle... chopped some garlic and placed it over the top. Salt and peppered it, then just tied it shut with kitchen twine.

Aren't they pretty?

Don't look at the one closest to the camera. That was my FIRST TRY in which I learned that beating chicken too hard will result in chaos for both you and the chicken.

Now it's time for you to wrap EACH of these INDIVIDUALLY in foil. Then put them in a bag labeled Asparagus Chicken.

Thaw them in a pan or dish in the frig the night before, then unwrap and cook one of the follow two ways:

Oven: 350 for 35-45 minutes until just a bit golden

Crockpot: coat inside of crockpot with coconut oil (just a little so that is prevents sticking) then line the bottom of the crockpot with your chicken wraps. Cook on low 4 hours.

That's it! And it's so good!

Next time I'm going to try this... wrapped in bacon!

Garlic Crockpot Chicken

When I found this recipe, the blogsite hostess said, "If you do not like garlic, do not try this recipe." I love garlic so of course I am going to try this!

However, what the blogsite hostess failed to say was that not only do you have to LOVE garlic, but your neighbors have to love it. Your children have to adore it, because it will permeate every piece of clothing in the room on their bodies. And your husband better enjoy bathing in it. I mean seriously. You have to LOVE LOVE LOVE garlic.

I thought I loved garlic. But this lends itself to a new kind of infatuation. I mean really. REALLY.

SO I'm going to say the same thing, only amended. Ahem.

Only make this chicken if you have a very unhealthy LUST for garlic. Because that is all you taste. Just garlic. So, let that be your warning.

Moving on.

So my thoughts on this bird were not only that it could have not been sooooo flippen garlic-y, but that there was hardly any flavor in the meat itself... well maybe there was flavor but it was masked by all the garlic! So, right. If you like garlic flavored everything and a house that smell like garlic two days later, this is the bird for you. No vampire attacks here this week.

What you will need: 

2 gallon sized freezer bags

1 quart sized bag

1 sandwich bag

Write on the outside of bag 1, 40 Clove Garlic Chicken - Low 5-8 hours (depending on bird size)

Put 1 whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry, giblets and excess fat pockets removed inside the gallon sized freezer bag. Cut a lemon in half and stick it INSIDE the cavity of the chicken and seal the bag.

In sandwich bag put 1-3 tsp of each of the following spices (depending on bird size):

marjoram

sage

rosemary

thyme

salt and pepper

and smoked paprika (I put more like a tablespoon or two cuzz I love that stuff ;))

In the last bag you are going to put about 40 cloves of unpeeled garlic (I used 5 heads and no I didn't count the garlic pieces I just said, looks good). You need to NOT peel the garlic because in the slowcooker they will absolutely turn to mush and not be what you want. So make sure to get them in their peels. TO do this I just whacked the side of each bulb with the side of my knife and then they fell into pieces. I did remove most of the flakey bunk.

Seal all the bags and stuff them into the main bag and into the freezer it goes.

The day before you cook it, make sure you thaw your bird out WELL! No frozen birds in the crockpot, please. Dries out the meat. And don't think you can turn it on high just to make amends. Just don't do it. 

Place cloves in the bottom of the crockpot. Next put the chicken over the top (Breast side up) and then sprinkle with all the spices. That is it. Set the crockpot and come back in 5-8 hours to see the results.

When it's done, you can get the color you want (that you can't get in a crockpot) by separating the chicken into individual pieces (breast, wings, leg quarters) and broil them on a baking sheet for a couple of minutes. Makes the skin crispy but makes an awful mess too ;)

You can use the drippings inside the crockpot to make gravy or mix into your cauliflower potatoes. But expect ultra garlic.

I apologize for no pics of the finished bird. My kids were so starved I just worried about my own safety and not a pic. No one (but my husband) complained about the meal... but no one had seconds either. And later it was agreed it was wayyyyyy too garlic-y. Okay fine. It was 40 clove garlic chicken. Lesson learned. I don't lust for garlic.

The bird itself had little flavor as well. Possibly because our nostrils were overrun with garlic but... it just wasn't a huge win. But someone who loves Garlic (with that unhealthy love) will love this too.