Ten-Clove Garlic Chicken & Rice

When I pulled out the slow cooker last weekend, I wasn't really sure what was going to go into it. But you really can't go wrong with chicken and rice! Here is what I threw together (I cooked on high for about 4 hours, but you can cook on low for about 7 hours, as well).

I served this with a side of my Roasted Cajun Potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (>1 lb), frozen or thawed
  
• 10 cloves garlic - I chopped 5 and left 5 whole, which I mashed after they had cooked (no real reason for this - I was just experimenting).
  
• 3 cups chicken broth (or water + bouillon)
  
• 1/2 cup white wine (I used a table wine - a favor from someone's wedding!)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasonings
• 1 tsp Nature's Seasons (or any season salt)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Other seasonings as desired
  
• 2 pouches Uncle Ben's rice, uncooked (I used a mix of long grain and roasted chicken). **any rice can be substituted - instant or the microwavable pouch.
  

Directions:

1. Put chicken breasts into your slow cooker. If frozen, put them in whole. If thawed, cut each piece into 3 chunks. Add white wine, chicken broth, and seasonings.
2. Because I put my chicken in frozen, I removed the chicken from the slow cooker after about 1-1/2 hours and cut each breast into 3 chunks - I also used the back of a spoon to mash all of the garlic cloves in the slow cooker - then returned the chicken to the liquid.
3. Cook on high for a total of 3-1/2 to 4 hours, until chicken is tender and pulls apart.
   
   
4. Add uncooked rice.
5. Continue to cook at least 10 minutes, or until rice is done and most of liquid is soaked up.