Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs with Carrots & Potatoes

Sorry for the lack of recipes lately. Patrick and I were out of town for a while (as in 10 days) to welcome my brother home from Afghanistan. Good excuse, eh? We drove to Illinois with my parents (and their lab) and stayed with family there. We had a great time. And, I only cooked once. The other nights we were treated to delicious meals by my aunt Susan, and we also went out to eat a few times (Italian Village pizza ... heavenly).

The one night I did make dinner -- for 17 family members -- I made two pans of baked spaghetti. I think it was a hit.

But now we're back to the real world where I cook.

Today I branched out of my comfort zone and pulled the never-been-used-in-two-years-0f-marriage Crock Pot down from the pantry. As I was flipping through the latest issue of Southern Living the other day I came across a tasty looking slow cooker recipe and decided that I'd give it a whirl. Now, the reason I have never used a Crock Pot before is that frankly, none of the recipes I've seen look too tempting. I'm not a huge fan of stew, and why would I want to brown meat before putting it in the slow cooker? Isn't the entire point of the appliance so that I don't have to do that?

This recipe, however, looked easy (no browning meat!) and had two of my favorite cooked veggies in it - potatoes and carrots. And, I didn't even let the fact that it called for chicken thighs (dark meat, never cooked/eaten before) deter me. So, today I gave it a try and folks, we have a winner.

The prep took all of 20 minutes, and six hours later we had a tasty, fall-ish meal in front of us. We declared it a keeper.


Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Potatoes
Courtesy of Southern Living
1 medium onion
4 medium-size new potatoes (about 1 lb.)
2 cups baby carrots
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 teaspoon paprika
6 skinned, bone-in chicken thighs*

Halve onion lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place onion in a lightly greased 6-quart slow cooker; top with potatoes and carrots.

Combine broth, next three ingredients, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over vegetables.

Combine paprika and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; rub over chicken. Arrange chicken on top of vegetables.

Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours or until chicken is done and vegetables are tender.

*I apparently have a poor memory because I came home from Publix with skinless, boneless chicken thighs, not the bone-in kind. I don't think it affected the taste at all, and was probably easier to eat.