Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Orzo.
My only resolution is to eat more delicious things in 2012 than I ate in 2011.
That sounds fair right? I like to be fair.
So fair that I even took some pictures of broccoli. Oye. It was a complete snafu, I swear.
Clocking in as my least favorite vegetable (well, minus the eight or so that I flat out refuse to taste), these little green trees here are creeping me out more than my weirdo man crush on Alec Baldwin. I don’t know what it is about him that I find so sexy, but if he wanted to hand-feed me broccoli I wouldn’t hate it.
Wait… no… I don’t know.
What I do know is that this chicken made my house smell like 4000 cloves of cheesy garlic (in a delicious way) and my mouth was watering as I scooped it on top of some whole wheat orzo. And then I stared at it. But it just looked so… blah. So uncolorful. So vanilla, if you will. Which honestly… really just makes me want ice cream. Now.
It has been quite dark and dreary and gloomy around these parts the last few days and I’ve craved some color in my life. And something more than the sparkly pink nail polish I painted on only to peel off 34 minutes later and the rainbow sprinkles that dumped all over the kitchen floor TWICE this past weekend because I stuff everything and it’s mother inside my kitchen cabinets. That was fun! Not.
I threw open the fridge door in a frenzy because if the holiday season taught my blood sugar anything, it’s that I’m starving every 20 seconds. But there was um, nothing inside. I didn’t go to the grocery store for almost two weeks, unless I found myself screaming, “I’m out of butter AGAIN” or “how is it possible to eat 3 pounds of cheese in three days?” I didn’t cook ONE meal in nearly fourteen days (maybe longer?), unless you count two handfuls of cereal and three peanut butter blossoms a meal. Which coincidentally, I often did. But seriously… no meals. I don’t know how we pieced together dishes when we weren’t calling for pizza or mooching out of someone else’s kitchen. And it was wonderful.
But inside that crisper drawer? All I found was two week old beef stew (don’t ask), an extremely moldy red pepper half, a bag of slimy carrots that gratefully shared it’s slime with the rest of the drawer, and a half-dead pouch of Trader Joe’s broccoli that I bought with good intentions but no plans. Like usual.
I quickly steamed it, which by the way… made my house smell like utter garbage. So then I threw it under the broiler with olive oil and cheese because the few times I’ve let it cross my lips is after it’s been charred to the holy heavens and back then graciously doused in sea salt. Yes. I know that OMG peoplelovebroccoliwhenroastedwithparmesan! Please don’t remind me. I’m well aware. If I liked vegetables my life would be so much easier. So I prayed this would make it more palatable and I sort of mashed it with a fork or something so it wasn’t so resembling of that one dude’s bean stalk. I was able to choke down a few of the really tiny pieces… after I would cover them in a bit more parmesan. But then I had to start picking it out and decided that 2012 would not be the year of the broccoli. I’m not sure I can ruin another super easy and delicious crockpot meal with such grossness.
Mr. How Sweet agreed, but still declared this his “favorite meal of 2012.” Then he asked why it doesn’t taste like cookies.
Crockpot Parmesan Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese + 2 tablespoons
- 1 cup uncooked whole wheat orzo
- 3/4 cup vegetables of your choice
Instructions
- The night before, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, cheese, basil, parsley, garlic and 3 tablespoons of wine in a bowl. Place chicken in a large ziplock bag, then pour marinade over top and coat chicken. Keep in the fridge overnight.
- The next morning, place chicken in your crockpot with 3 tablespoons of wine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Prepare whole wheat orzo according to directions. Once cooked, combine with remaining olive oil, parmesan and salt and pepper if desired. Cut chicken into pieces/chunks, and toss together with orzo. Add in vegetables of your choice! Top with additional parm.
- This is a great meal to make ahead of time and store in the fridge for easy lunches and dinners.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
If you’re looking for some healthy recipes this week, I suggest this, this, this and this. And a little cookie bite, of course.
143 Comments on “Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Orzo.”
I love the story telling with this post. Your writing is awesome in this one. I love broccoli, always have. Could eat a whole head of it at a sitting if it wasn’t so fiber-rific…I just love the stuff. So does Skylar (4 yrs). She thanked me today, I am not making this up! for feeding her broccoli because she said she knows it keeps her strong and healthy. We’d gladly take your broccoli off your hands :)
How would you make this on the stove top?
I’d probably still marinate it all night/day, then sear it in a super hot skillet for 2-3 minutes then bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.
I don’t mind the little fluffy green bits of broccoli but I am really not a fan of the stalky bits. They’re so stringy and weird and really hard to swallow without chewing. This looks mighty tasty though, maybe with some peas or carrots or something vaguely normal. Happy New Year!
What a great post, Jessica! I’m jealous that you haven’t cooked a meal in fourteen days…it seems that’s all I have been doing with everyone home fr the holidays! This chicken looks so delicious, and I personally love the addition of the broccoli!
I knew you’d like the broccoli!! :)
Next time try dousing the broccoli in red wine before eating it. That’s what I do!
WAIT, no I don’t. Well, not all the time.
Considering that chicken parm is Josh’s favorite food and that this has the words chicken and parmesan in it…its a must make. I like that resolution. I haven’t really thought about resolutions except that I want to be able to do a split again by the end of the year. I have awesome aspirations :)
Alec Baldwin??? Seriously??
Yes seriously! Haven’t you ever seen It’s Complicated??
Gotta agree with you, Jessica! He’s kinda sexy! :)
This looks great! I love using my crockpot but don’t have a ton of recipes for it so I’m excited to try this one.
My husband and I made a calzone last night using the filling from your butternut squash stuffed shells. I think he almost died of satisfaction. We added a little gorgonzola to the bechemel in attempt to make a gorgonzola cream sauce and though I wouldn’t say it was perfect I think it turned out OK.
OMG that sounds amazing!!
I agree that broccoli smells pretty gross when it’s cooking. Kinda like pee. Which will probably ensure that you never eat broccoli again.
Do you think I HAVE to marinate it overnight? Was really wanting to make it today – looks so good and I think it would go perfect with the foccacia that I’m attempting to make today..from scratch..eek! Love this recipe!
No! You can marinate it for a few hours and it should be great!
THANK YOU :D I know what I’m eating tonight ;)
About the make the Cardamom Bacon from Craig. He’s in for a real treat!
When you put the chicken in the crock pot do you dump in the marinade as well? This sounds SOOOOOOO good!!!
There really won’t be a lot of marinade to dump in because it’s a fairly small amount and will be coating the chicken. I would try to keep as much on the chicken as you can then discard a little liquid left in the bag.
Eating more delicious food was going to be my resolution but my party-pooper husband said that wasn’t a “real” resolution. Whatever that means. But now that I know it’s yours, I think it’s totally legit and will be telling him off as soon as his lazy butt rolls out of bed.
Also, Alec Baldwin in It’s Complicated is totally crush-worthy. I don’t know why, it kind of grosses me out, but it’s the truth.
I knoooooow!
I LOVE finding new and delicious crockpot meals… this looks so good!!!
Happy New Year!
You are so funny!! Its true though we always end up not eating dinner around the holidays. Too much time spent in the kitchen on cookies & treats I guess. Not that that’s really a bad thing. This chicken looks absolutely wonderful… but broccoli is def an acquired taste. And what was that dudes name with the beanstalk anyway? Thats going to bother me, but I’ll try a bit longer to think of it before I resort to The Google :) Happy New Year!
Isn’t it jack? Like jack and the beanstalk? I am pretty sure…
i LOVE broccoli! and what i love even more is anything i can cook in my crock pot!
This looks like a great meal. I love cooking in the crockpot, it’s so easy!! I wouldn’t change this recipe at all, I think broccoli is a perfect vegetable for this dish! Definitely going to make this, this week!
I just got a crockpot for Christmas and this looks delicious so clearly I will have to try it out!
I don’t usually like chicken breasts in the crock pot since they tend to dry out. Maybe the marinating helps w/ this one? Looks good w/ all of those added goodies!
We eat broccoli at least 2-3 times a week over here. Not sure why, but we both love it so another recipe with it is perfect because there’s only so many way one can think to make broccoli interesting!
My resolution needs to be to use our crockpot. I’ve had one since our wedding, and have NEVER used it!!!
My girl crush on you continues! Looks great, will be making for dinner tomorrow!
1. I TOTALLY get you on Alec Baldwin. I mean, I hate myself for it because he seems like such a terrible, arrogant guy in real life. But he’s just so….i dunno. But I get you.
2. Glad someone else has vegetables they “flat out refuse to taste.”
3. This looks great, even with broccoli. I need a crockpot.
I don’t normally advertise this, but I feel like here it’s totally acceptable: I share your thoughts on Alec Baldwin. ;) And even though he’s only 1 year younger than my dad and that’s really sort of creeper-ish…. I’m ok with that.
Hey J!
Next time you’re preparing any veggie, just drop some chicken bouillon in the water. This, my new friend, will help get you over the hump. Me and b.sprouts. have been going steady for over 2 years.
Sounds awesome!
Is there a substitute that can be used for the white wine?
Awesome!! And I love the marinating the night before so as to make the dish even more easy to throw together in the morning. And I love that you can freeze it. And I love that it’s chicken. And I love that it has cheese in it. And…. ;)
This looks delicious, I love crockpot meals! Happy New Year!
I have to say that It’s Complicated is one of my very favorite movies…and although Alec Baldwin is SUCH A CREEPER in that movie, he is strangely attractive. Ugh.
How do you manage to make a crock pot meal attractive? That’s what I wanna know! Yours are always SO DANG PRETTY.
My kitchen smelling like 4000 cloves of garlic is my only new year’s resolutions. this is perfect.
I don’t even want to open the bottom drawer in my fridge. There are things in there that I am not prepared to see.
We mooched out of other people’s kitchens for the last 2 weeks, too…it’s the best way to go. I think I might have to come to your house and mooch this broccoli out of your kitchen.
I have a feeling Mr. How Sweet will be saying every meal is his favorite meal of 2012 for a while. So sneaky!
Soooooo you probably don’t want me to harvest that broccoli in my field and mail it to you then? :)
Broccoli is actually the only vegetable that my daughter will eat – go figure!! I’m sure she’d love this!
I used to like broccoli… a lot.
Now, I hate the stuff. Don’t know what happened, but it’s true.
I still buy it, and throw it away too.
My husband misses it, so I hereby resolve to make him more broccoli in 2012. Do you think 4 times, once a season is enough?
This looks great, I’m going to try it!
more crock pot recipes please! :)
What!? Whole wheat orzo exists?! I had no idea! This makes me incredibly happy to know!
dang girl… this looks SOOOO good. But what’s new… everything you put up here looks SO good ;)
Parmesan? Garlic? I’m in.
Happy New Year, Jessica! I’m loving your blog, as always!
I’ve read that the whole broccoli thing is genetic. Like cilantro. Some people lovely (me) and some people think it tastes soapy. Do you remember high school biology and the little PTC strips? Anyway, looks like a great recipe!
Hi Jessica! I’m the Wellness Director for a YMCA and we are about to begin a community weight loss competition where all competitors weigh in once a week for 10 weeks. Each week at their weigh in I’ll be giving them a handout with exercise tips and a healthy recipe. I would love to use this recipe one week! I read in the “About” section that you’re okay with this as long as I leave the recipe unaltered and include the link to the original post. I just wanted to doublecheck that this would be okay for me to do and if so, do you want me to also include your name? Love your site and all the delicious recipes and want to pass along the awesomeness :-)
Yep, totally fine! Thanks!
I didn’t even know there was such a thing as whole wheat orzo. Hello! Healthy and delicious. I dig it.
Jess, you crack me up. This looks great though, I was excited to see you posting a crockpot recipe because we just got one for Christmas and I plan on using it ALOT.
It’s thanks to you that I eat solid food at all! Can’t wait to try it!
That looks seriously amazing!!!! Can’t wait to try it!
This looks awesome. What size crockpot did you use?
HA! This is exactly how my husband feels about broccoli! I asked last night if he would considering trying brussel sprouts – he gave me the worst look and said they have a bad rap because they are bad…just like broccoli! He refuses to try either of them!
Love this crock pot meal though – I am always looking for more yummy things from the crock pot!
So glad I saw this recipe before I did my grocery shopping today. Just bought all the ingredients. Looks delicious!
Tee hee!!! I never say no to the cookies. And I love to use orzo!!! Yum!
Haha! Love your New Year’s resolution! This looks fabulous! And while you may hate broccoli, I love it! But you also love mushrooms, evident from the recipes on this blog, and mushrooms make my stomach churn just thinking about them! To each their own!
I recently discovered your blog and LOVE it. I’ve tried several of your recipes and my hubby has loved them. I’m on the opposite side of you as broccoli – I actually really like it. I know – weirdo. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love a crockpot meal!