When you are married to someone in the military, you realize how important a home cooked meal is for your spouse.  My husband is like a growing child, he is always hungry. When he comes back from the field, I know he is ready to enjoy real food after eating MRE’s for days, weeks, and sometimes months.

In this section of the blog, I will be sharing with you some of my husband’s favorite meals that are easy on your budget, healthy and balanced, as well as simple to prepare.  Due to my new found love of using fresh herbs in everything I cook, I will also include a section in each post describing the health benefits of the herbs used.

This recipe calls for fresh thyme, parsley, and rosemary.  Thyme is healthy for your body in many ways. It boosts your immune system, reduces stress, protects against heart diseases, and has been used to treat chronic coughs as well as respiratory diseases.  Parsley is healthy for your body too. Most people are familiar with parsley as a garnish on a plate of food, or for the benefit of good breath.  The health benefits of parsley are numerous. It can be used to control diabetes, help reduce inflammation in the joints, boost your immune system, and it aids in fighting osteoporosis due to the calcium content in this magical herb. Last but not least, rosemary is one of the most popular herbs to cook with. It is easy to grow and maintain outdoors throughout all seasons of weather and its health benefits are tremendous. Rosemary not only boosts memory and immunity, but it can also help soothe an upset stomach. It is known to minimize anxiety, stress, and increase blood flow too.

Ingredients:

1 whole young chicken

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon olive oil

1/8 cup of fresh thyme, parsley, & rosemary (chopped finely)

Instructions:

1-Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the crockpot

3-Take a handful of the thyme, parsley, and rosemary and put inside of chicken, then place chicken in the crockpot.

4-Pat the top of the chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika.

5-Chop remaining thyme, parsley, and rosemary finely (1/8 cup), and pat into skin of chicken.

6-Add small amount of water to the crockpot, only lining the bottom of pot.

7-Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

This meal serves 4 and costs approximately $18.00 including the side items mentioned below.

*Crock Pot Herbed Chicken pairs nicely with a side of southern style turnip greens and roasted red potatoes and carrots. 

© Strength 4 Spouses, LLC 2018.