I have zero cooking creativity. My family has grown extremely tired of the usual dinner offerings: spaghetti, burritos, chicken casserole. The last few weeks, as I’ve sought out new recipes, Tasty Kitchen and The Pioneer Woman have meant dinner salvation. Ree’s recipes are delicious! And high in fat. But I’d rather not dwell on that fact because I thoroughly enjoy hearing the praises and the “OH, this is soooo good, Mom,” issuing from full mouths.

Last night I tried a crockpot recipe (from BettyCrocker.com) for a chicken roast. It received 10 thumbs up (not 12 because Abbey decided she wasn’t going to like anything this week). Plus, it only has 3 grams of saturated fat. I doubled the recipe and excluded the gravy (I’m not a gravy lover. Plus, that decreased the amount of fat), opting instead for a little chicken stock for flavor. Not only did everything fit into my crockpot, but it was done in the time frame given in the recipe.

1 lb small potatoes (6 to 8), unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (3 cups)
2 cups ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots
1 cup frozen small whole onions (from 1-lb bag), thawed
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (1 1/4 lb)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 jar (12 oz) chicken gravy
1 1/2 cups Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen sweet peas, thawed

Directions:
1. Spray 3- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, place potatoes, carrots and thawed onions. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; place over vegetables in cooker. Pour gravy over top. Or not! Like I said, I used chicken stock. Sorry, I didn’t measure how much I poured. Maybe a cup?
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
3. Stir in thawed peas. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook about 15 minutes longer or until peas are tender.

I realized, as we were eating, that it would have been even better with a bread/roll of some kind. I have a friend who simply serves all of her meals with a side of toasted whole wheat bread. My favorite right now is Publix’ 5-grain Italian bread. It’s so good!

(Disclaimer: Neither Publix nor Betty Crocker is reimbursing me for this post/review. I am simply sharing something I like with my readers. That said, if Publix or Mrs. Crocker would like to send some coupons or free food my way, I will gladly accept.)