Steal of the Week: Greek-Style Chicken

One of the unknown benefits of doing this blog has been its ability to push me to try new things. I started this simply to chronicle my cooking exploits and share my thoughts on meal and menu planning and now it has become a driving force in expanding my culinary horizons. I am learning to be more daring and my family is happily taking this journey with me.

That brings us to the recipe steal of the week. I mentioned in a previous post that my mom, knowing I have such mad love for the slow cooker, bought me Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes. The best thing I have found in this book so far is ideas on how to use the crock-pot through the Spring and Summer. So, I decided to try my first one when I got some boneless, skinless chicken thighs on sale and I found this recipe for Greek-style chicken.

Greek-Style Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1. Remove and discard visible fat from chicken. season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Brown chicken on all sides. transfer to Crock-Pot slow cooker.

2. Add broth, lemon, olives, garlic and oregano. Cover, cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours or until chicken is tender.

From Rival Crock-Pot Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes

I am usually gone from home anywhere from 8-12 hours during the day so there was no way this was going in the crock-pot in the morning. However, I had already planned to come home early that day so when I arrived home at 3:00PM, I followed the recipe and put the cooker on HIGH instead of  LOW. By 6:00PM it was done!

I served it with the doctored potatoes from Kid’s Cook Night II. I heated fat free milk and about 2 tablespoons of smart balance butter in a saucepan, adding to it fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. When the mixture was hot but not boiling, I poured it into the reheated potatoes and blended it all together with my handheld mixer.

I thought the chicken had a nice flavor and was very light and could definitely see why the recipe recommended serving with orzo or rice. Hubby has no love for dark meat, and unfortunately this dish didn’t convince him to change his mind. I think I could adapt it to use chicken breasts but I’d have to experiment with the breasts and the cooking time. I also think this could easily be adapted to a tasty oven dish with the rice and chicken cooking together.