Recipe: Spice-rubbed crockpot chicken

Alright, some folks I know have recommended that I post some of my cooking creations on a blog, accessible for others to peruse. Well, in addition to the previous ideological post, here is a post for a recipe (Note: All "Recipe" posts will be titled "Recipe:...", which will allow readers interested in viewing solely my "Recipe" posts to type that in the search bar)

As I go from one chapter of my life to the next, my cooking styles evolve to fit my current style of living. Growing up, traditional cooking methods were employed, cooking most items on the stovetop or in the oven, with almost no worry of leftovers (6 people can consume a lot of food), which almost always promised that I would have the opportunity to once again cook another meal the next day. In college, while I certainly was aware of how much electricity I was consuming, cooking in the oven was practical - I wasn't worried about heating the apartment (I lived in houses where the kitchen was distant from the bedrooms) and I paid a flat-rate housing bill (with that said, I still tried to minimize wasting energy). I could cook lasagna in the oven on Sunday and be set for the week. I also cooked items in my small (1.5 qt) crockpot. Unlike my childhood, meals now lasted all week; instead of 6 people eating 1 dish, 1 person was eating a dish that served 6 (hence the entire week).

Now, I'm finding that I rely almost solely on the crockpot. It is easy to assemble, the dishes are tasty and conveniently ready when my husband and I get home, it doesn't heat our entire apartment, and it is rather energy efficient. Due to this change, I've learned to adapt a good portion of my favorite recipes to the crockpot. There are some dishes that I still love to cook on the stovetop, but we rarely use the conventional oven (this is especially possible due to previous gifts of a microwave oven and nuwave oven).

Here is a nice dish that I recommend all folks should try if you like chicken (adapted from www.food.com).

Spice-rubbbed crockpot chicken:

• 2 tsp salt + more
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

 

• 1 onion, yellow; wedged
• 1 chicken (~5 lbs); whole & thawed
• 4 apples, any variety; sliced
• 2 cups cranberries (optional)
• 1 cup white wine, favorite variety (or water)

1. Rub the cavity of the chicken with a liberal amount of salt to kill bacteria
2. Rinse cavity out with cold water (to get rid of as much salt as possible)
3. Mix dry spices/herbs together 
4. Rub spice mixture all over chicken 
• This works best if you rub the spices under the skin, doing your best to get spices into the wings and legs. Don't worry about rubbing the cavity with spices.
5. Place ~1/2 of the sliced apples on the bottom of the crockpot (~6qt)
6. Set chicken, back side down, on apples
7. Stuff onion wedges underneath skin, including into places like the legs and wings.
8. Stuff cavity with remaining apples
9. Top with cranberries
10. Pour wine over chicken
11. Cook on "low" ~8 hours

• NOTES: 
• Chicken should be 165F (adjust time accordingly)
• Can cook on "high" for ~4 hours
• If you like it spicier, add more cayenne and less paprika (opposite if you like it mild)
• If you don't want to eat a whole chicken (personally, I think the leftovers are great), then feel free to cut this recipe in half, and use chicken breasts or drumsticks or whatever you like.