As much as I love summer (I always have- but being a teacher also adds to my love for summer), I also love fall. I love when it starts to cool off, the windows are open, weekend bonfires, hot apple cider and most of all the BEER! I love Oktoberfest and pumpkin beer! I do have a rule that I will not drink them until school starts, but so yum! The boyfriend is even more obsessed with Oktoberfest beer. He would drink them year round given the opportunity, with this being said- it was very hard to stick to my "no Oktoberfest before the school year" rule with him drinking it since the beginning of August (but I did!). It was starting to get that fall feel around here for the last few days, we had the windows open, great sleeping weather and even had a couple of fires. I decided I wanted to make the beer chicken that we typically do in the fall, of course since I started thinking fall it became super humid, air went back on, and it's going to get in the 90s this week. Yay New England seasons. No matter, I'm still going to enjoy the flavor, especially since this is a crock pot meal so no hot stove!
Ingredients:
About 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 breasts depending on the size)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
salt and pepper as needed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 12oz bottle of Oktoberfest beer of your choice
(estimated amount of veggies)
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup cut parsnips
1 cups cut potatoes
I would like to provide a disclaimer: I do not measure. I am guesstimating the amounts I put in, other than the beer cause that comes pre-measured.
Directions.
Sprinkle paprika, ground mustard, celery salt. rubbed sage and seasoned pepper onto chicken breasts. Put into crockpot, drizzle with olive oil and cover on high for about 30 minutes. After the first 30 minutes, switch to low and add the beer. If you don't have time for this, it's totally ok to put the beer in as well and cook on low the whole time. I usually just throw it all in together, but I was home and had time to experiment.
After it's been cooking for about 2 hours, add the chopped veggies, salt and pepper. Again, it's an estimated amount.
What looks good to feed your family for the amount of chicken you have. This is what mine looked like.
I had some fingerling potatoes left from the farm, and also added red potatoes. I just love the colors of the purple and orange and white. If you don't like parsnips, add more carrots. I'm still not sure what a parsnip really tastes like, the BF wanted them so I got them.
Once you add the veggies to the crockpot, cover and continue to cook for another 4 hours or so until it's done. I may have under estimated the size of my crockpot-- I used the small one instead of the big one. Ooops... still learning how to cook for two on a week night.
If you overfilled like I did, just mix them around a few times until they're cooked somewhat even. After the first hour they cook down a bit so at least the cover fits all the way on. I would suggest using the 4 quart crockpot, as opposed to the 2 quart I used for more even cooking
Once it is cooked, serve all together in one yummy, messy pile. I served with sour kraut and brown mustard, but do what's good for you.
I'm still working on my photos... As I keep doing this, I'll work on the presentations...
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