Crock Pot Lemon Pepper Chicken

This is one of the easiest and most delicious chicken recipes I've ever tried.  I browned the chicken thighs before I put them in my slow cooker for added color and crunch but you could absolutely skip that step and still have delicious chicken!  The slow cooker is great in the hot summer months when you don't want to heat up your kitchen and don't have time to grill.  You could throw this in your crock pot the night before and cook it the next day.  Serve with rice pilaf and a salad and you have a dinner fit for a king!

Crock Pot Lemon Pepper Chicken (adapted from therecipecritic.com)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
8 bone-in, skin-off chicken thighs
1/2 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 package dry Italian dressing mix (or make your own sugar free version - recipe below)
1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. chicken broth

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.  Brown chicken, in batches if necessary, and place it in the slow cooker.  Whisk Italian dressing mix, lemon juice and chicken broth together and pour over the chicken.  Cook chicken on low for 3-4 hours.  


8 servings (119 calories each servings - feel free to have 2!) according to my calculator on loseit.com

Italian Dressing Mix (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 1/2 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. onion powder
1 T. dried oregano
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. dried basil
1 1/2 t. dried parsley
1/8 t. celery salt
1 T. salt

Mix all together in an airtight container.  This can easily be doubled or tripled and stored for future use!