I’m always thinking about the easiest and simplest recipes to cook. There are parts of cooking I don’t enjoy, I don’t like following complicated recipes, fine chopping, and searching for ingredients in the store. Since I rarely follow a recipe, my creativity gets the best of me in the kitchen. I’m often putting together flavors that really shouldn’t go together; once in a while it works out. I was kind of wondering to myself what would be a good go-to slow cooker dish I couldn’t really botch the flavors with.
My recipe started with butter and chicken thighs. I ran the idea of cooking chicken in the crockpot with a stick of butter by my boyfriend, and as I said it, I realized most people probably wouldn’t do that, since butter doesn’t have the healthiest reputation. Supportive, he said, “You could try it, but you should definitely add garlic and lemon.” Since I’m not “most people,” I gave it a go: I got a pack of chicken thighs and a lemon at the store. I had a stick of salted butter and minced garlic at home. I put it all in my slow cooker and let it cook on low for 3.5 hours. Aromas of butter, garlic, and lemon filled my house. If a candle company doesn’t make that scent yet, I think they should consider it.
I ate the flavorful chicken over a dish of egg noodles, with bread for dipping. I skipped the butter there. The chicken would also go great on angel hair pasta or jasmine rice. Pleased with my results, I now have a basic, delicious, go-to slow cooker meal, at least until I get tired of it. If you’re concerned a stick of butter is a bit of overkill, you actually only end up eating a couple of tablespoons, so it seems like more than it is, depending on your portion of course.
Lemon Butter Chicken
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1.5 oz. minced garlic
1 stick salted butter
1 fresh lemon
Line a crockpot with a cooking liner. (I am a huge fan of these, but it’s not needed.) Lay the chicken thighs on the bottom of the crockpot. Chop up the stick of butter into cubes, and lay them on top of the chicken.
Squeeze half the lemon onto the chicken, and slice up the other half to lay on top. Add minced garlic. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 3.5 hours.
Cook noodles — I used wide egg noodles. Rice or angel hair pasta would be good alternatives.
Serve with sprinkled Parmesan cheese and bread, with or without butter.
