Crazy Crockpot Chicken Thighs

CRAZY CROCKPOT CHICKEN THIGHS

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This recipe was lovingly named by the elder of my two children.

He recently turned 11, and I am loving how much his quirky personality grows and changes each day... its growing and changing ALMOST as fast as he is Ha!      Any-who back to the business of food...

 

So what makes this Chicken "crazy" you ask? 

Well as I was preparing to make dinner, and getting all of my ingredients out- I pulled out our HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS SEAFOOD BLEND –the one with the little orange crab on the front, and set it on the counter by the fresh chicken thighs. He seemed a bit perplexed, looking back and forth between the spice and the chicken and with an all-too-familiar, are you loosing your mind again mom?... look and said “Mom, either you are confused or that meat came from one CRAZY looking crab. I laughed so hard Dr. Pepper almost came out of my nose, but it was worth it because that was the moment Crazy Crockpot Chicken was born!

 

In case you were wondering, I'm not TOTALLY crazy… the wonderful thing about ALL of the HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS Blends and Rubs is that they were created with a specific meat or dish in mind, BUT that doesn’t mean they aren’t amazing when you get a little crazy and mix it up. The seafood blend has a delicious mix of citrus and lemon and dill undertones. Which makes it delicious on seafood, chicken, baked potatoes, grilled veggies and even some cuts of pork. The possibilities are endless!

This recipe is about as easy as it gets. Its what I like to call a simple RUB>COOK>EAT situation and perfect for a crazy weekday meal…just how I like it- barely any prep, very few ingredients and the crockpot will do the rest of the work.

INGREDIENTS

4-5 Large Chicken Thighs, cleaned & trimmed (fresh or frozen will work)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2-3 Tablespoons HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS SEAFOOD RUB

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

¼ cup of water

HIMALAYAN Pink Sea Salt and Pepper to taste (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour ¼ cup of water into bottom of the crockpot, place the Chicken thighs right side up in the crockpot and brush with olive oil. Cover each Chicken Thigh well with the HS Seafood Rub and sprinkle with the lemon juice and salt and pepper if you choose. Set the Crockpot on low and cook for 5-6 hours. At around the 6 hour mark, the meat will be so tender it will fall off the bone! Outstanding!

I love serving this CRAZY chicken with a nice Rice Pilaf or even Parmesean Cous Cous. 

It also goes great with our 

Salt–Free/ Flavor-Full Baked Squash Fries 

 which I will be posting later this week, so check back soon!!

You never know what might happen if you step outside the box, and if you make something crazy at your house with our seasonings we want to hear about it, send us your recipe and a few nice pictures and we might feature you right here on our Homestead Seasoning Blog!

Crockpot Sticky BBQ Meatballs

CROCKPOT STICKY BBQ MEATBALLS
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This weekend we have a bunch of friends coming into town. Some will be staying with us which is awesome, but the kicker is that we never really know when they will be pulling into town. The drive from Salt Lake takes about 4 hours and they usually leave right after work, (without stopping for dinner,) so I always try to have something delicious and filling for them to nosh on when they get here. My crockpot is my weapon of choice in this situation. I can tackle dinner for my family AND our late night visitors in one fell swoop!

Now PAY attention cause I am going to throw a little curve-ball at you... For this particular recipe I actually use the HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS PORK RUB, and not the BEEF RUB. It has all those tasti-fied browns sugars & homestyle bbq flavors that I was looking for in this dish, and its a super simple SET & FORGET recipe, which I love!

INGREDIENTS
1 bag (48 ounces) frozen meatballs
1 bottle (28 ounces) your favorite BBQ sauce
3 tablespoons HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS PORK RUB
1/8 cup Apricot jelly or preserves (optional)
1/8 cup Honey

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine meatballs, BBQ sauce, HS PORK RUB, Honey and apricot preserves in a crockpot.  Heat on High until warmed through, then set to Keep Warm until your guests are ready to enjoy them.

Baggy Baked Chicken

BAGGY BAKED CHICKEN BREASTS

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I remember being a little gal in my moms kitchen helping her make "Shake & Bake" chicken, and how I was always blown away by the fact that she could put a plastic bag in the oven and it didn't melt or ruin the dish in any way?? Crazy oven voodo.... or was my Mama just magic? I never really found out exactly-- I still to this day think those plastic oven bags are made from kitchen fairy dust or something... so maybe I AM totally crazy. I realize that these OVEN BAGS are not a new thing, but I just recently began using them in my own kitchen, and was amazed at how juicy the food stays when I cook with them. Reynolds Oven Bags are my favorite. They are not super expensive but definitely worth their weight in gold when baking chicken- one of those dishes that is so easy to over cook.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons HOMESTEAD SEASONING CHICKEN RUB 

1 1/2 cups Breadcrumbs or Panko 

1/2 tablespoon Basil

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

2 tablespoons Parmesan Grated Cheese

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 

(about 1-1/2 lbs.)

1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil 

1 Oven Bag

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°. Combine HS Chicken Rub, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil and garlic powder in a separate bowl.  Dip the cleaned and trimmed chicken in oil and then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides really well. Place the cooking bag inside a 13 x 9-inch roasting pan. Carefully arrange chicken inside the cooking bag and use the provided tie to loosely close the bag.  Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. 

Once its ready I usually cut the bag open at the top and then slice it down the middle. This creates two flaps that will fold back easily, so you can get the chicken breasts out without making a big mess ha! I love serving this chicken with homemade mac & cheese and mixed veggies... I know it seems like a kiddie meal, but all of the adult (or whatever I am) love it just as much as the little ones!

< < < < < <   DOUBLE DUTY ALERT   > > > > > >
If you have the ability to make extra chicken, Set it aside because this recipe makes a perfect  DOUBLE DUTY DINNER when paired with our Dang Cute Personal Pot Pies or our Hearty Homestead Chicken Pot Pie recipes it can save you tons of time, preparing, cooking and dicing chicken!
LESS TIME in the kitchen means MORE TIME with the LOVED ONES you are cooking for!

Sweet BBQ Pork Loin

SWEET BBQ PORK LOIN                  

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Its that time of year again--Spring is in the air, and like clockwork my family starts craving the homey-comfort of traditional BBQ. The sweet sugary undertones, and smokey mesquite flavor that only real BBQ can satisfy... But as many of you know... in Southern Utah "SPRING" lasts only a few weeks and is also known as "surprise wind storms & weird sporadic rainy season" Needless to say no always the best BBQ weather. That is why I love this recipe! All the flavors of BBQ with out the fuss-
A simple RUB-BAKE-EAT situation!

>>>WARNING<<<  >>>>>KITCHEN GADGET RANT<<<<<
In one of the pictures you will see my Meat Thermometer... one of my favorite kitchen gadgets ever invented!! At my house I am KNOWN for forgetting to turn the kitchen timer on....
Thus = burnt and overcooked meat!
I picked up this little gem at my last trip to IKEA and I will tell you, next time I am there... I will be buying several more. They are a lifesaver in the kitchen!!
You just set the internal temperature that you want the meat to cook to, insert the thermometer end into the meat, and leave the square part out on the counter. As soon as it reached that temperature... the thing SQUEEALS at you, until you take the meat out.... helping you create perfectly cooked meat every time! Anywho..... Back to the recipe > > > > >

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 - 3 pounds Boneless Trimmed Pork Loin
3 Tbls HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS PORK RUB
3 Tbls Brown Sugar

2 tsp. HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS Pink Himalayan Salt (optional)

2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbls of water

INSTRUCTIONS:
This is an easy one Ladies and Gents... a simple RUB, COOK, EAT situationSimply Rub boneless trimmed pork loin with the extra virgin olive oil. In a separate bowl mix together brown sugar
and the HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS Pork Rub. Srpinkle and rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the Pork Loin.

Add a pinch of HOMESTEAD SEASONINGS Pink Himalayan Salt (optional)

Place pork loin into a greased or foil lined shallow baking dish. Add water to the base of the dish.
If time permits-- Chill the pork loin for 1-2 hours in the fridge.... not necessary, but helps the flavors marinate into the meat.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Bake pork loin for 20-30 minutes or until the inner temperature reaches 140 degrees.
Let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Serve and Enjoy!!
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 < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <  AS PROMISED

Ta da! MY FAVORITE MEAT THERMOMETER
{see rant up above for why I LOVE this little gadget SO much!!!}

 It really is a life-saver, time-saver, brain-saver... or meat-saver if you will