smothered buttermilk chicken over brown rice

***in which i tell you to MAKE THIS TONIGHT because it was so easy and so delicious, and it's one of those healthy meals that tastes like the most unhealthy, comfortified (new word!) food there is.***


So as I've mentioned before, Wednesday night is Bowling Night for us, and I like to have something easy and ready to go, something that doesn't take a whole lot of time to prepare in the evenings. Slow-cooker meals are perfect for this, because you toss some stuff in the pot in the morning, forget about it for like 6 hours, and then voila! You have dinner!

I was craving some comfort food, but I also wanted to keep it figure-friendly. I stumbled across this recipe on a WeightWatchers message board, and everyone was raving about how much they loved it, and almost as importantly, how much their non-dieting husbands loved it. So I decided to give it a go.

Wow, were they right on the money. This tasted like the incredible filling of a chicken pot pie, without the pie. And you could easily serve it over some biscuits and get the full pot pie effect. I know, it's not the best picture, but I promise, it was great.

Smothered Buttermilk Chicken (5 points)

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into halves
3 medium carrots -- sliced (I used a half-cup of baby carrots and chopped them)
1/3 cup onion -- chopped
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 package roasted chicken gravy mix, like McCormick's.
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons flour
1 cup frozen peas

1. In a 4 to 6 quart crock pot, combine chicken, carrots, onion, water, butter, salt, pepper and bay leaf; mix well.
2. Cover; cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.
3. About 20 minutes before serving, stir gravy mix into crock pot. Remove and discard bay leaf.
4. In a measuring cup, blend buttermilk and flour until smooth. Stir flour mixture and peas into chicken; mix well.
5. Cover, increase heat to high; cover and cook an additional 25-20 minutes or until peas are cooked.
6. Serve with rice or biscuits (don't forget to add the points!).


I used a wooden spoon to pull the chicken apart and shred it a little bit before serving, which I thought worked out wonderfully and made it like a chicken stew. I did add a little bit of water at the end to thin it out a little bit, because it was really thick. This is some stick-to-your-ribs comfort food.

I had a few ears of corn left over from yesterday, so I made the corn and shallot dish again - see yesterday's post for the recipe.