Cookin in the Kitch {Herb Crockpot Chicken}

So I have been trying to make at least 1 new thing a week for dinner. We have a history of finding things we like & sticking to them...week after week after week. 
One time, to break the cycle & expand our palettes, I decided to cook everything in a fancy Cooking Magazine/Mini Book I had bought. Since we were single & livin' it up, cost was kinda at the bottom of our worries. I didn't make it all the way through, but more than half way! It was fun while it lasted, but the grocery bills quickly caught up with us.
Now, with this new Paleo Lifestyle, we are eating all kinds of new things. And with 2 under the age of 2, the crockpot has made a major re-apperance into the kitchen. Also, I have gotten more"experimental". Just kinda adding this & that & the other while crossing my fingers & toes that I didn't just botch it big time.
I come from a long line of wonderful cooks, & growing up I would sit in the kitchen in amazement as they just did it. No recipe cards (or in my case, open laptop on the counter) or book out. Just a pinch of this & dash of that kind of cooking. It's something that you just have in you, & I guess part of it is gained from taking the journey yourself. You have to get in there & get your hands dirty. Experiment. TRY. You have to make mistakes so you always remember never to do that again.


Yesterday I did just that. I tried a recipe last week that I found online, & the end result was not what we had hoped for. While eating said "meal" I thought (out loud, as i often do, which the Hubs tends to find irritating cause he never knows when I'm talking to him or myself...) of what I would do different, if I did it all again. Instead of chicken pieces I would just do a whole chicken. I would NOT add the bacon fat to the pot, per directions. And so on & so forth. By the time I had finished, it was a completely different dish! Lol. But, one that appealed to us more. So here it is, Herb Roasted Chicken & Gravy with Vegetables- Crockpot Style.


Ingredients:
1 whole Chicken (3-4 lbs)
2 Leeks
4 carrots
2 Sweet Potatoes
4-5 celery stalks
8-10 Cloves of Garlic
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Peppercorn
Thyme
Fresh Rosemary
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock/broth

• Chop veggies & rough chop about 6 cloves of garlic.
• Saute garlic & leeks in Olive Oil for a few mins, until leeks begin to soften.
• Add remaining veggies to pan, season with S & P to taste. Add a small palm full of thyme (about 1 TBS). Continue sauteing for about 7-10 mins on medium heat, until fragrant & veggies start to soften a bit.

• Add veggies to the CrockPot, deglaze the pan with wine & stock & let simmer.
• Rinse chicken, pat dry, season inside with S & P. Place on veggies breast side down.
• Pour liquid from pan over chicken & veggies.
• Season top of chicken with S & P & rosemary (leaves from 1 sprig)
• place remaining whole garlic cloves (2-4) inside of chicken with a few rosemary leaves

• Set CrockPot timer for LOW, 6 HOURS.
• After it is done, I like to take the chicken out & place under the broiler breast side up for a few mins, until the skin firms up & gets a little golden.
• Remove all but about 1-1 1/2 cups of the vegetables, then use an immersion blender (or standard blender) to turn remaining veggies &  liquid into gravy.

And there you have it, Easy Herb Chicken & Gravy with Veggies.
And the critics were unanimous, Two Thumbs Up! We will definitely be having this again.