The Slow Cook Book Recipe #1: Mustard Chicken Casserole

I received this cookbook, The Slow Cook Book, a little over a month ago and I was really taken with it.  It's certainly not your average slow cooker book with all the traditional recipes.  It's more of a slow cooking gone gourmet kind of book.  There are your average types of chapters such as soups, stews, casseroles; but, the recipes are anything but average.

After looking through the book, and marking way too many recipes, I decided it was time to break out my slow cooker and start cooking with it more.  For the next few weeks, I'll be featuring some slow cooking recipes from The Slow Cook Book.   

Now, after saying all that, the first recipe I chose was one of the more traditional recipes in the book; but, I simply couldn't pass it up....Mustard Chicken Casserole! 

The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but I'm sure you could use whatever you have on hand.  The chicken marinates in a mixture of whole-grain mustard, English mustard, and honey for at least 30 minutes, longer if possible.  After marinating, the chicken is cooked in a skillet until golden.  Using the same pan the chicken was cooked in, you saute onions and parsnips until golden.  After that, everything is placed in the slow cooker and that's it.  Easy peasy.

 Mustard Chicken Casserole

Adapted from The Slow Cook Book

Serves 4-6

2 Tbsp. whole-grain mustard

1 Tbsp. English mustard

2 Tbsp. honey

8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on

salt and black pepper

2 Tbsp. olive Oil

2 onions, roughly chopped

10 oz. parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped

few sprigs of thyme

2 cups hot vegetable or chicken stock

bunch of flat-leaf parsley

Note: I omitted the parsnips because I couldn't find them in the store. I served the chicken over boiled and buttered baby potatoes instead.

Mix the mustards together in a bowl and stir in the honey.  Season the chicken thighs well with salt and pepper, then smother them with the mustard mixture.  Cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes, if time permits.

Preheat the slow cooker.  Heat half the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the chicken pieces, a few at a time.  Cook for 6-10 minutes until golden-be careful, because the honey may cause them to blacken quickly.  Remove and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the pot over medium heat, add the onions, and toss them around in the pot to coat in any juices.  Stir to scrape up the sticky bits from the bottom, then add the parsnips and thyme.  Transfer everything to the slow cooker, pour in the stock, and add the chicken pieces.  Season, cover with the lid, and cook on auto-low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  Add the parsley, taste, and season, if necessary.  

Notes/Results:  This chicken dish was so good that I simply couldn't get pictures of it fast enough.  The chicken was nice and tender and had a wonderful mild flavor without any overwhelming mustard flavors.  Everyone in the house declared it a winner, including the kids, and it was gobbled up in one serving.

I am submitting this to my friend Michelle of Ms. enPlace for her See Ya in the Gumbo event.