crockpot beer chicken

I went through a phase where I really wanted a crockpot. I finally got one...and never used it. It just required too much planning ahead. The first thing I made with my crockpot (2 years after I got it) was black beans. It involved soaking the beans for 8 hours and then cooking the beans for another 8 hours. I am not organized enough to think 16 hours in advance that I may want some black beans.

Well, I tried again with my crockpot. I will admit, cooking with a crockpot is easy. You set it and forget it. It literally took me about 10 seconds to throw these things together (and faithful blog readers, instead of randomly dumping in spices, I measured them...just for you). I'm warming up to this whole crockpot idea, so perhaps there will be more crockpot recipes in the future.

Weird note: I'm also too nervous to leave my crockpot on at home while I am not there, so I foresee my future crockpot cooking to be a weekend only affair.

Crockpot Beer Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts - I used a 1.25 pound package, but you can use whatever you want

1 bottle Old Brown Dog Ale by Smuttynose Brewing Company (Again, use whatever you want. I used this particular beer because I found it in my fridge)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon italian seasoning

Directions:

Put all ingredients into crockpot. Cook on either high or low. The timing will change depending on your crockpot. The original recipe called for either 3-4 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. I ended up cooking it for 2 hours on high and 2 hours on low.

Note: you can also sear the chicken in a frying pan before putting it in the crockpot. (but it's more work...and more pans to wash)

Also, I saved the leftover beer chicken broth. I plan on making gravy with it...and making mashed potatoes to go along with it!