Monday, September 19, 2011

Slow Roasted lemon, garlic, and herb chicken




My husband's sister is getting married this coming Friday. As we are having to get dressed up I thought that this week I would try my best to make food that helped us not to gain any extra weight. An unfortunate problem with having such a passion for cooking and baking is my pants feeling a bit tight every once in awhile. We have recently started going to a gym again thank goodness for a 24 hour fitness center in our little town here. Limitless use + elliptical + jeans becoming looser = Good feelings and happy faces.

Not only will this meal taste fantastic it will make your whole house smell fresh and amazing.What will become very apparent on this blog is that I have a healthy obsession with my slow cooker. Especially when it comes to the Fall/Winter months. It is a way to create a very healthy meal without having to use a lot of unneeded fats and/or oils. Now I will say that even though the chicken and broccoli are healthy you might be thinking what is she doing making macaroni and cheese which has butter, cheese, and carby noodles. Well I am not the type of person that will give up all the things I love just to lose weight. You should be able to have your cake and EAT it too, just use smart sense in your portion control.


Dinner Tonight:


Slow Roasted Lemon, Garlic, & Herb Chicken
Macaroni & Cheese
Steamed Broccoli




Slow Roasted Chicken

1 whole Skinned Chicken
1 whole Garlic Bulb
2 Lemons, one halved & one sliced
Rosemary, Thyme



* Skin your chicken so that the herbs, garlic, and lemon can get into the meat and not just sit on top of the skin.




* Cut up lemons, clean cloves and halve to make all equal pieces



* Place chicken into slow cooker, place some garlic cloves inside chicken cavity along with two halves of lemon and some herbs.



*** I used fresh thyme and dried rosemary. For the dried I used about 3 TB and used a bunch of fresh thyme.

* Cover the chicken with the remaining cloves of garlic, sliced lemons, and the rest of the herbs.


* Set cooker on low for between 8-10 hours.

*Remove and cut up serve alongside your favorite side dishes and enjoy.
**** I cooked this chicken until the 9 hour mark and when I went to pull it out of the crockpot the only thing that came out was the breasts with the carcass. You can simply pull the bones right out. Very tender and juicy. 




Macaroni & Cheese

1 TB butter
1 TB flour
1 cup milk, I use anywhere between 3/4cup to one cup depending upon how thick I want the cheese
8 oz shredded cheese, I used Kraft 4 cheese classic melts
Cooked, drained, al dente pasta of your choice
Salt and Pepper to taste


* Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat


* Whisk flour into melted butter, then whisk in milk keep whisking continuously until thickened


* Add cheese and stir until blended

* Pour over pasta and fold together, add salt and pepper to your taste liking

**** Cooking the pasta al dente allows the cheese and pasta to mix together without completely falling apart.



This macaroni and cheese recipe happens to be our favorite in this household. Very simple Bechamel sauce allows you to add whatever cheeses, and seasonings to make it personalized to your taste.

1 comment:

  1. I LOVE homemade Mac n cheese & so does my 2 yr old! I think this is a recipe that even I might be able to make (not the best cook) & doesn't seem like it will take too much time either! Thanks for sharing! Loving your blog!

    ReplyDelete