Get ready for my Juicy Slow Cooker Lemon and Green Olive Chicken with Artichokes. Not for Thanksgiving dinner (yet!). What about the days before and after the holiday dinner? If you’re like me you are running around like a crazy person thinking about how are you are going to find time to plan and cook a big Thanksgiving dinner.
But, the bigger question is how are you going to feed your family and/or guests ALL of the other meals during Thanksgiving week? With my Juicy Slow Cooker Lemon and Green Olive Chicken with Artichokes. Quick, easy and unbelievably tasty.
Certainly, now that I am in my Metirement transition, I have a lot more time to prepare for Thanksgiving and other upcoming holidays but that doesn’t mean that things are not still hectic. It just comes with the holiday territory. Clearly, the best thing about Thanksgiving is that you don’t have to buy and wrap presents but you can just concentrate on food. But the food is NOT JUST ONE DINNER.
A warm embrace during the cold winter!
I’m here to help. I am going to show you what you can feed all the family and guests who may be coming from far and wide for the holiday. They will probably be hungry and if they are from a sunny place they will be cold and need a warm comforting dinner. So here you have a recipe that you can think of as a warm embrace to accompany all of the hugs you will undoubtedly share this holiday season.
Wrap your arms around this delicious, creamy and slightly tangy chicken dish that is great with rice pilaf and kale salad with butternut squash. If this doesn’t get you ready for Thanksgiving, I don’t know what else will.
Reduced prep time for an easy weeknight meal.
On a side note, this is a very easy dish to make because I have streamlined all of the steps to reduce the prep time. The first shortcut is to chop the onions, celery and carrot in a food processor. You don’t want to just throw everything in the food processor but if you start with the onions and first cut them in large chunks (about 16 pieces for a large onion), pulsing them in the food processor is quick and easy. Dump the onions into the crockpot or saucepan in some sizzling olive oil then repeat with the celery and then the carrots. Large chunks about the same size. Pulse, pulse, pulse and dump.
With the focus on efficiency, you can even put all of the ingredients together in the crockpot the day before you want to serve it, put it in the refrigerator and cook it the next day so your family and guests will enjoy the smell of deliciousness all day long.
You will see that at the end of the cooking time, I bump up the flavors by adding additional thyme, the lemon juice and a bit of sherry right before serving. I think a few drops of Tabasco also is great for adding some zing to this dish.
And note the tip and trick of the day:
When using bay leaves, always snap them in half to release their flavor. And with dried herbs, always rub, rub, rub them first between your fingers or in the palm of your hand. You can’t believe how much flavor is released when the herbs come in contact with the oils of your skin.
One holiday week meal down, lots to go! Rice Pilaf and Kale Salad for the side dishes in my next post!
Juicy Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken with Green Olives and Artichoke Hearts
Everything into the pool! Saute the vegetables and brown the chicken. The rest is all about the slow cooker. Gather your family around for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner and stay warm!
Ingredients
- 1 large onion chopped in large chunks all about the same size. Dp not use Vidalia or other sweet onion because long cooking will eliminate all of its flavor
- 6 large carrots peeled and cut into large chunks all about the same size
- 6 stalks celery chopped into large chunks about the same size. I like to also use the leaves
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 teaspoons dried thyme divided
- 3 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper divided
- 1 large bay leaf or two if they are small, broken in half
- 1 cup flour
- 2 large skinless and boneless chicken breasts cut in half
- 12 skinless and boneless chicken thighs
- 3 cups chicken stock I prefer Swansons
- 1 5.75 oz. jar sliced green pimento stuffed olives
- 1 14 oz can artichoke hearts
- juice of two lemons
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- a few drops of Tabasco
- freshly chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
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Put the large chunks of onions in a food processor and pulse until they are just chopped. Do not puree the onions. Meanwhile, in the crockpot heat 2 T. olive oil at 400 degrees or heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
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Separately pulse the celery and carrots in the same way as the onions. Add to the oil and stir until everything is just translucent. Add the garlic and 1 tsp. thyme (rubbed first between your fingers) and a bay leaf which you have broken in half to release its flavor.
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While the vegetables are sautéing in the crockpot or skillet, prepare to dredge the chicken pieces. In a zip lock bag combine the flour, 1 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper. Add the chicken pieces one at a time and shake in the bag.
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Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil to the crockpot or skillet and when hot sauté the chicken four pieces at a time removing each piece to a plate when nicely browned. Each time you add more chicken, add the rest of the olive oil in increments. When all the chicken is browned add it to the crockpot and stir together with the vegetables.
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Add chicken stock and cook for 6 1/2 hours on low.
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One hour before the chicken is done, add one jar sliced green stuffed olives, drained and one can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped.
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When chicken is done cooking, add the juice of two lemons and the remaining 2 tsp. of thyme (rubbed), the sherry and about 5 drops of Tabasco (or more if you like it a bit spicy) to bump up the flavor. Add remaining 2 tsp. salt and 3/4 tsp. pepper (or to taste) and garnish the chicken with fresh chopped parsley.
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Serve with rice pilaf and a nice kale salad.
Recipe Notes
I am still working on the rice pilaf and the nice Kale salad so please stay tuned!