Tarragon Chicken - Mommy Boler's Crock-Pot Version

I've spent the last few months trying to find healthy recipes for the crock-pot that the three of us will eat. I need it to be gluten-free, dairy-free, preservative-free, sugar-free etc. My husband just wants it to taste good and doesn't want to know how healthy it is. And my daughter, well she is two... who knows why she likes certain things and not others!

This is the only crock-pot recipe that I've cooked more than once and it has quickly become a weekly meal.  It makes enough chicken to leave leftovers for lunch or the next night's dinner.  The chicken just falls apart as you take it out of the crock-pot and melts in your mouth.



You could serve this with mashed potatoes, rice, or quinoa along with any kind of vegetable. I like to serve it with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

One great thing about this recipe is that I don't have to plan the night before. I don't think about dinner until the morning and I am always forgetting to defrost meat.  This recipe can cook on low in four hours so I take the boneless chicken breasts out of the freezer first thing in the morning and let the package sit in warm water in the sink to speed up the defrosting process.  By the time my daughter is eating lunch it is usually defrosted enough.

Today my daughter was really into eating her lunch which made cooking this a little easier. I prepped the mashed potatoes first.  These could be cooked in the evening as well but I jumped on the opportunity to make them while she was enjoying her lunch. (See my Shepard's pie post for my dairy-free mashed potatoes.)

Then I chopped a medium sized shallot and sautéed it on low heat with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Once the shallot was clear I placed the chicken breasts in the pan and browned them on each side, about 2 minutes per side.

While the meat was browning I put 4 cups of water, 1 tablespoon tarragon, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt in the crock-pot. Once the chicken was browned on each side I transferred them from the frying pan into the crock-pot and set it on low.  Most crock-pot low settings are 6-8 hrs but this will be done in as little as four.  If you cook it on high the meat may be tough and chewy.  I am sure this recipe would also work on low over night.

About 15 minutes before dinner I washed and cut the asparagus and put it on to boil. (Steaming would be work too) While it was cooking I took all the chicken breasts out and put them on a cutting board.  Using two forks I pulled all the meat apart. Then to keep the chicken moist I spooned some of the liquid from the crock-pot onto the meat.

I love the aroma of this recipe. My apartment fills with the delicious smells of comfort food. My daughter likes it, my husband likes it and I like it... that is success.