I love my crockpot.
My childhood memories are filled with the scents of pot roasts and onions and crockpot cooking welcoming me home from school in the afternoon. Savory soft carrots and potatoes infused with the flavors of garlic and pepper and slow simmered in a true roast gravy with onions.
{drool}
As an adult, I love the simplicity of it, the ability to toss ingredients into a gadget, walk away and come home to a delicious smelling house and a full meal that is produced almost effortlessly.
A couple of months ago, my crockpot bit the dust. I did what any self respecting blogger does and I hit up twitter and Facebook.
Y’all were very adamant —
The only crockpot is a REAL Crock-Pot
Y’all know when you get a new kitchen gadget how you feel bound and inspired and challenged and determined to use it to make your very next meal? What? Is it just me?
So — I pulled out one of the few things that I’ve never cooked in a crock-pot; a whole chicken and got to thinking.
I looked into my pantry to see what was on hand and I found a few of my staples:
Garlic, lemons, limes and onions. As an afterthought I grabbed the mandarins out of the fruit bowl and clipped some rosemary from my newly planted bush by the front door. (#win) and I sliced it all up
Doesn’t that look like an afternoon at a good beach club? Drink garnishes and the scent of rosemary and garlic — heaven.
Y’all — if you have a spot — plant some rosemary, it smells divine, grows easily and is pretty much a fabulous addition to about any dish.
Back to the crockpot.
Place the onion slices, slices of 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 mandarin and a handful of garlic in the bottom of the crockpot
Stuff the chicken with a handful of garlic, slices of lemon, lime, mandarin and 1 rosemary branch
Place the whole chicken inside the crockpot and top with– rosemary and the rest of the garlic, lemons, limes, mandarins and some fresh cracked pepper.
Place on low and cook for 8 hours.
Resist the urge to remove the lid and dive in.
Resist the urge to remove the lid and swim in the aromas wafting from the crockpot.
Just. Resist.
Until the warmer light goes on — then, feel free to dive in to the piece of art that is this amazingly flavorful savory, tangy, sweet, moist chicken dish of awesome.
I warn you, the chicken falls of the bone.
When you go to remove this from the crockpot, it’s fall off the bone tender. With the exception of the bones and the rosemary branches, every single bit of this dish is edible.
My friend ate the limes without realizing they were limes, it is THAT good.
This dish is ridiculously easy, amazingly delicious and the smell. Holy hell y’all, the smell. You want to dive in and lick your crockpot.
okay, y’all — I feel the need to add a disclaimer here.. a few people have had this come out bitter and/or greasy 
I don’t know why. I can only contribute it to the ripeness or lack thereof of their citrus. I’ve made this several times and have never had that problem. Most people who make this recipe have great success with it, but I’m just laying that out there. I don’t know if removing the rinds would help. When I have some time I’m going to try this with several different levels of *ripe* citrus and see if I can replicate the issues….. just a heads up, y’all (3/1/12)
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I love seeing what y’all are linking up and feeding your family and friends.
Thank you for sharing the link love, commenting and linking back — <3
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