By the time I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I was very thin and extremely weak. One friend said I walked like an old woman. I couldn’t stay on my feet for long and kept a bar stool in the kitchen to sit on while I was cooking.
I had three young boys to care for, and cooking at all was challenging because of fatigue. On top of that, I now had to figure out how to cook gluten-free. One of the first things I learned was that I could prepare basic meat, vegetables, and potatoes or rice.
That’s how “Sunday Night Dinner” was born. Slow cooker chicken and vegetables was one meal that was safe and easy for me to fix. So we had it every Sunday for months—until I was feeling better. Sunday Night Dinner consisted of a whole chicken cooked in the crock pot with carrots, celery, and onion, and instant mashed potatoes to go with it.
Trust me, we are not instant potatoes kind of people. My husband grew up in Idaho. Not the potato growing region, but still. We were both raised on lots of potatoes and they were never instant. However, I found a brand that was gluten free and we ate instant potatoes because it was all I could do. No one complained.
In case you’re wondering, my husband can’t cook. Really can’t cook. He was great about doing shopping and clean-up though. He’s also a terrific handy man and has saved us so much money by doing home improvements and house and car repairs himself.
Years later, Sunday Night Dinner is still a great meal to prepare. I use real potatoes now and might cook some green beans to go with it, but it’s a basic meal that is easy and enjoyed by everyone.
Slow cooker meals are great for fall evenings, especially if you are spending time at sports practices with the kids. We always enjoyed coming home from soccer practice to a hot crock pot meal.
Here’s my recipe, but it’s really a non-recipe like my slow cooker beef and vegetables. You can find more no-recipe needed dishes at Shirley’s roundup.
Chicken and Vegetables - Slow Cooker
Yield 6 - 8
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (3 – 5 pounds) or chicken pieces
- carrots, peeled and sliced
- celery, sliced
- onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup liquid (broth, wine, water, or a combination)
- salt
- herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary)
Instructions
- Place the carrots, celery, and onion in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
- Pour the liquid over the chicken.
- Sprinkle the chicken with salt, whatever herbs you desire, and the garlic. You can put some into the cavity and under the skin of the chicken breast.
- Cover and cook on low approximately 6 hours or high 3 – 4 hours. Cooking time will depend on your slow cooker and the size of the chicken.
- Remove chicken to a pan and place under oven broiler for about 5 minutes if you desire browning.
My family says that this tastes even better than those expensive premade deli take home chickens.
Thanks for sharing a quick and easy recipe.
Moe
I was touched by your intro to this one, Linda. I’ve been there. A whole chicken in the crockpot is one of my go-to meals as well. I like to put a lemon in the cavity for a citrusy-flavored chicken to serve over jasmine rice, but my daughter likes it best your way. 🙂 I always appreciate the crockpot recipes. Thanks!
Hey Linda
This looks good but I can’t get on too well with a crockpot. I think my house must be too small or something…whatever is cooking is just so powerfully strong in every room of the house, by the time it’s time to eat, you are sick of smelling it! (You would just have to come and visit me and you would agree.)
The main thing I wanted to say… you look great now! Sorry, you were so ill as you wrote in your post…my husband had celiac as a child and almost died. He had the extended belly and stick arms and legs before a doctor (one of many) finally diagnosed him in London.
I wrote about a cake recipe today and it was really good. Let me know if you see it! And hey, you are looking good today too! I promise!
Kay
Kay, some people put their crock pot outside or in the garage during the hot summer months just to keep the heat out, but you could do it for the smell. 🙂
Hey, in the garage or outside the back door…that’s a good idea. I could possibly try that…Linda, you’re beautiful AND smart! Thank you!
Kay
Kay, thanks for your kind words!
Sometimes it’s amazing to take a look back and see how far we’ve come. It always makes me think of others still undiagnosed and suffering. This post will help those folks, Linda, and it will help anyone who wants a lovely, easy meal. I think roast chicken has to be one of my all-time favorite comfort food dishes. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing another non-recipe with us all and linking to my Go Ahead Honey roundup! And that reminds me that I better look at the deadline for this month …
Shirley
p.s. I agree with everyone else … you do look sensational now! 😉
Thanks, Shirley, on that p.s. compliment. 🙂
Hi. This looks so good, question about chicken….I always bought the rotisserie chicken from grocer’s deli or frozen boneless breasts, but now that im GF not sure what is safe, do I have to buy fresh packaged chicken, or is there a safe rotisserie or frozen that I can use??
Some rotisseries are safe and some are not. You need to read the ingredients. Take a look at this series on reading labels. Fresh chicken should be safe whether it is whole or parts. Frozen sometimes has added ingredients, but is usually okay. Again, always check the labels.
Hello…My 7 yr old daughter has CD and before her diagnosis almost 3 yrs ago, I wasn’t the best cook (still am really not but I try…). So crock pot recipes are the way to do…easy and delicious! I’m doing chicken and veggies tomorrow similar to your recipe, I usually do this once every few weeks. I have learned to cook Gf and be more creative, do I love cooking?….NO! but I have learned to like it for my daughters health and well being! 🙂
Sounds like you’re a great mom, even if you’re not a great cook.
Do you think I could get away with running the crock pot for 8 hours if I popped the chicken in frozen? There’s only one day of the week that we’re gone all day, and I’d love to come home to this meal on that day 🙂
Debbie
I would not put a frozen whole chicken in the crock pot. The center might stay at an unsafe temperature for too long. Frozen pieces work, though. You could use pieces instead of a whole chicken in this recipe or try this one: http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/2009/09/italian-chicken-what-can-i-eat/
There are crock pots that can be digitally programmed with a start and stop time now. I leave the house for work at 7:30 a.m. and often don’t come home until after 6 p.m. so I was unable to make crockpot meals. I purchased a programmable crockpot made by Bella for Christmas.
Thank you!!
Thank you!
Can u add cut up potatoes. New to slow cooker cooking. Looks yummy for Sunday dinner
Yes, you could add potatoes as long as your crock pot is big enough to hold it all.
Thank you so much for your website. I love the ease of this recipe and can’t wait to try it. I am not a very experienced crock pot user. Do you think it would work to use just chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken?
Hi Carol. Yes, you could use chicken breasts or other pieces. Here is a link to my list of crock pot recipes. There are other recipes that use chicken breasts or thighs. http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/crock-pot-recipes/
Thank you for sharing this on Facebook. I am going to make this tonight. I also didn’t know about those symptoms of celiac disease. I have been gluten-free for a couple months for hypothyroidism but it seems a lot of celiac-disease symptoms have ignited ever since I switched to gluten-free.
I have been using this recipe with a chuck roast beef or pork butt for years. diabetes in June2012 & colitis Feb2014 . am now Gluten,oats,dairy, soy,fruit,sugar,veg free! Eating only one ingredient foods. Med.free.
All symptoms gone!! Yippee
Wow! Made this today. I used a 6 lb. roasting chicken, a whole 1 lb bag of carrotts, one whole celery stalk, one large onion, a generous sprinkle of Spice Hunter’s Poultry Seasoning blend, and one cup of savignon blanc wine. First, my house smells delicious! This is one easy “recipe!” And, I have never tasted such moist chicken breast – woohoo! Thank you so much. This will become a regular favorite for sure. 🙂
I’m cooking this tomorrow. Do you think I could add a sliced up sweet potato? Thanks for your share.
Yes, as long as there is room in your slow cooker, add whatever veggies you like.
Helpful tip: pop a generous pinch of paprika into the pot after the liquid – it dies the chicken skin brown so that it looks roasted rather than anaemic, yet is too diluted to spice up the dish. I use this trick all the time and it really works!
That’s a great idea, Sharon. Thanks for sharing it!
My mother used to cook chicken in a slow cooker and she added carrots, onions, celery and red potatoes. Was it ever delicious!
What is a Oven Broiler?
Thank you.
Broil is a setting on most ovens where the heating element on top heats up and can be used to quickly brown the tops of foods.
When you say use liquid? what are some substance examples? water , lemon juice?
In the ingredients list I say 1 cup liquid (broth, wine, water, or a combination).