Slow-cooked Lemon-Orange Chicken in Gravy

In my part of the country it's been pretty hot lately. Matter of fact, this past few days has been forecasted to reach the triple digits! When it's that hot, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven for anything. I like the kind of recipes where you just prepare and go. This is when my slowcooker gets utilized a lot!

It's the perfect companion for this type of weather, sometimes you use the stove-top to sear your meat, but other than that the only preparation is preparing spices and seasonings and probably cutting up some vegetables. Perfect for me!

I've had a busy weekend with two graduations and record high temperatures. I decided to make a tasty meal for my family that can cook away while I was busy tending to life. I opted to create a chicken recipe that had a summery feeling. Loaded with oranges and lemons as well as garlic and seasonings with a touch of sweet white wine, I felt I'd found my ideal dinner.

I was off to shop for my ingredients and needed a whole fryer chicken to separate into pieces for this meal. I decided to head over to my nearest Smart & Final located in Pleasanton, California to shop, and I found the twin pack for First Street Brand Whole frying chicken. The packaging boasted that they are 100% natural, with no artificial ingredients, no additives, no preservatives, and naturally processed. Wonderful! I picked up my twin pack and I was set to get my busy weekend started!

First Street Whole Frying Chicken will be on sale at Smart & Final for just $.89/lb beginning on June 5th! Check out your local Smart & Final and pick some up. I always love picking these up whenever I see them on sale, because they're so versatile. You can usually make a few meals out of them, and these are great because they are part of a twin pack. If you'd like to see a variety of recipe ideas and sale items, check out the community page for Smart & Final. #ChooseSmart!

I used one chicken for my recipe and froze the other one to be used at a later time. For this recipe I used basic ingredients that I typically have on hand, and served the chicken and gravy with the roasted garlic, lemon and oranges over whole wheat spaghetti that was lightly tossed in butter and olive oil. It was a family friendly meal, that appealed to everyone.

Ingredients:

• One 4-5 pound fryer chicken, separated into legs, thighs, wings, and breast
• 3 cloves garlic, minced - plus one head garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dry thyme, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper, plus extra to season
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sweet white wine (moscato is a good choice)
• 1-2 large lemons, cut into pieces
• 1 large orange, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon dry rosemary
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

Start by washing the chicken and patting it dry.

Once chicken is clean and dry, divide the chicken into 8 pieces. Legs, thighs, breasts, and wings. 

Mix the minced garlic, lemon pepper, salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of dry thyme in a bowl. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the breasts and thighs, then save the rest for the legs and wings. Be sure to get the seasonings under the skin as much as you can too.

Once the chicken is seasoned, sear it over medium-high heat in a large pan. Add a little extra lemon pepper seasoning while it's being seared. Sear both sides, just until golden. This locks the seasonings and flavor in before beginning the slow cooking process. Once done, set the pan aside, you will need the seasonings and remaining ingredients later!

Now arrange the chicken in the slow cooker. Wash the lemons and orange before cutting into wedges.

Peel a whole head of garlic and add the whole garlic cloves into the slow cooker on top of the chicken with the lemon and orange wedges.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Stir it up, then add chicken broth, orange and lemon juice to the pan, along with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Mix in 1 teaspoon dry thyme, dry rosemary and sugar. Mix well.

Once the mixture is all combined, pour it over the chicken, garlic and fruit.

Cover the slow cooker and set to high heat for 4-6 hours. Your house will smell AMAZING!

Once done, the fruit will have a roasted look to it, and the garlic will be soft. 

Scoop out the chicken and put in serving dish, adding the garlic, lemon and oranges on top. 

Now take the liquid, and heat it in a saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk quickly until dissolved. Serve gravy with the chicken.

Serve the chicken over noodles, garlic, orange, lemon and all. Then drizzle with gravy.

I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles and tossed in butter and a touch of olive oil.

Enjoy!

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