So, today, I am making a crockpot meal for supper, which is not common for me.  However, I don't really feel like using my oven for that, since I also have to bake bread today.  The meal is from a friend, called French Country Chicken.  I put my own spin on it, merging it with a dish we had brought to us after one of our boys was born.  Recipe to follow.  It called for skinless chicken pieces, but whole chickens are so much more economical to buy, and I can get a 2-pack at Costco that is pretty decent.  So, a whole chicken went into the cart.  After I got the veggies prepped and into the crockpot, I went to work on the chicken.  I cut it up all by myself!!  And, I ended up skinning it, though that wasn't completely planned until it happened. 

Now, I could've gotten my camera out and tried to figure out how to do pictures and get them posted correctly.  Instead, I decided to turn to my good friend, YouTube...   Okay, actually, I remembered a Good Eats episode called Fry Hard 2 that I had watched recently and searched YouTube for it.  It shows an excellent way to cut up a whole chicken in minutes with little effort.  Sounded good, and I was eager to try it out.  The whole clip is excellent, but starting at about 3:30, it goes through how to dissect a chicken properly and with ease, if you want to skip to the good stuff.  After doing that, it was a cinch to skin it, so I did.  It's healthier for my dearest hubby, and I just threw all the scraps into the stew pot to make stock for tomorrow's lunch (homemade chicken and noodles, anyone?).  Without further ado, here's the clip.

Now, here's the recipe for my version of French Country Chicken

3 md potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1" dice

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" (I actually used 4 because we like carrots)

8 oz mushrooms, either sliced or quartered

1 large onion, diced

2 ribs of celery, sliced 1/4"

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp kosher salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence (or poultry seasoning + rosemary if you can't find the herbes)

1/3 c dry white wine or chicken broth

Place all the veggies into the bottom of a roasting pan or a crockpot liner.  Toss with olive oil and salt to taste.  Lay 4-6 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken (here's where I used my cut up chicken, but I might've also used leg quarters from the store here too) on top of the veggies.  Sprinkle with 3/4 tsp kosher salt and approx 1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence.  Pour your liquid over top.

If cooking in the oven, cover and place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 1 hour, or until chicken is done and veggies are tender.  If cooking in a crockpot, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or until chicken is done and veggies are tender.

Lastly, and most importantly!  ENJOY!