chicken with a whole lotta garlic

When I bought a new crock pot this year, I flipped through the little cookbook that came with it.  Included was "Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic". I was intrigued and filed it away for a later date.

Last week, I did it.  Well, kind of.  I figured two heads of garlic was enough, so that's what I used. Let me tell you, it was good.  Really, really good. And not overwhelmingly garlicky, either. The garlic made it almost sweet, and because you leave them unpeeled, they are perfect for spreading on warm, crusty bread when dinner rolls around.

So, here it is:

Chicken with 26 Cloves of Garlic

1 4.5-5 lb whole chicken, giblets removed

26 cloves of garlic (or two large heads), unpeeled

1 large lemon, cut into thirds

rosemary

tarragon

basil

(or whatever combo of spices you prefer)

4 stalks of celery, washed and trimmed

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

Wash chicken and pat dry.

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Line with celery and some of the onion, like this:

Sprinkle inside of chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff with lemon and remaining onion.

Place the chicken on top of the celery and sprinkle generously with spices and some salt and pepper. Place garlic all around chicken. It should look something like this:

Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.  Mine was done after 5 and basically fell apart upon removal from the pot.  It was so tender and so juicy and was absolutely delicious.  Even if it didn't look perfect.

* to reduce fat intake, we don't eat the skin.  And really, it's not that appealing when it's been in a crock pot.  Just slice your chicken up, and it'll come right off.