Crock Pot Chicken and Potatoes

I finally had time to cook!  This was exciting since recently I’ve been so busy, that cooking (and especially baking) have just not been happening within my kitchen.  The other night, I opened my fridge and discovered I had an assortment of chicken legs and thighs.  I thought about what to cook then reached out on Facebook (yay social networking!) and my friend Monique gave me her recipe for crock pot chicken.  I always trust Monique’s recipes and judgment so I decided to give it a try.  Also, rotisserie-style chicken from a Crock Pot?  I’m sold.  I adjusted the recipe a bit to better fit what I had on hand.

• Ingredients:
• 4 lbs. assorted chicken thighs and legs
• Salt
• Garlic Powder
• 2 Habanero Peppers (diced)
• Black Pepper
• 6 Idaho potatoes wrapped in foil

1. Wrap your potatoes in foil and place them on the bottom of your Crock Pot.  I have a 6 qt. Crock Pot so 6 big potatoes lined the bottom perfectly.  You may want to adjust this if yours is smaller, larger, etc.
2. Season the chicken thighs and legs with salt, garlic powder, habanero peppers, and black pepper.  Get your hands all up in there and make sure both sides of each piece are fully seasoned.
3. Lay the thighs and legs on top of the potatoes in the crock pot.  I did thigh, leg, thigh, leg.  The pieces closest to the edges will result in a crispier skin.
4. Put the lid on the Crock Pot and set it to 8 hours.  This recipe does NOT require any additional liquid since the liquid from the chicken pieces will make its way down to the potatoes and cook those.
5. I checked on mine after 8 hours and discovered it needed about 30 additional minutes before the legs were done. If you want, you can remove the thighs and just leave the legs to finish cooking on top of the potatoes.
6. Be careful when everything is done and you grab those potatoes.  The foil will not only be hot, but so will the skin.  My fingers are proof of this.

 

This was absolutely delicious!  As you can sort of see from the photo (not the best quality, I know), the potato really doesn’t even need butter since it’s soaked in the juices from the chicken.  The thighs were definitely my favorite part.  The skin came out crispier on them and the meat was tender and melted in your mouth like butter.  The legs were good, too.  Such a simple recipe with ingredients you may already have in your home!  Thanks, Monique, for this awesome recipe.  There were no leftovers except for one potato.  By the way, the potatoes will fall apart once you slice into them.