Lemon Pepper Crockpot Chicken

Not wanting to put too much time into cooking this week because of a busy schedule, I busted out the crockpot.  So easy, quick, and minimal effort.  I don’t usually use the crockpot during the week because my school schedule starts so early, and the food ends up sitting for a little longer than it should.  But I did use it this week for a homemade Lemon Pepper Chicken… and I have a few suggestions on how I would do this differently again.

Lemon Pepper Crockpot Chicken

Pieces:

1. 3 chicken breasts (although thighs would probably be better)
2. one cup dry white wine
3. 2 cups gluten free chicken broth
4. 2 tbsp. dijon mustard
5. 2 sprigs each of fresh rosemary and thyme (although dried would be fine, too)
6. 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
7. 3 tbsp. lemon pepper
8. 2 cups rice
9. one half package frozen peas
10. 2 tbsp. olive oil
11. 2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
12. 2 tbsp. honey
13. 2 more tbsp. lemon pepper

Process:

1. Combine the chicken, wine, broth, mustard, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and 3 tbsp. lemon pepper in the crockpot.
2. Cook on low for 7 hours. 
3. When the chicken is almost done, cook 2 cups rice according to package directions.
4. When the rice is just about done, add the frozen peas.  Cover and continue to simmer until the peas warm up and the rice is fully cooked.
5. Make a vinaigrette by whisking together the oil, vinegar, honey, and rest of the lemon pepper.
6. Serve the chicken over the rice, and drizzle the vinaigrette on top.

The few changes that I would make would be to use chicken thighs instead of breasts because they stay juicier for longer.  I would also not cook it for more than 8 hours, and not let it sit as long as I did, which was a few hours.  Nothing is worse than dry chicken!  Also, in this recipe, I used peas… which was not my original idea.  I did use broccoli, but it didn’t hold up in the crockpot and I had to improvise with frozen peas I had on hand!

Happy Allergy Free Eating!