Slow Cooker Middle Eastern Garlic Chicken

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Serves 6-8.
Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-1/2 lbs)
4 cloves garlic, sliced, plus 4 cloves mashed (or garlic paste from a jar)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp olive oil
Directions

Trim the chicken breasts, and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a bowl with remaining ingredients, and mix well. Marinate, covered or in a zip-loc bag, in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours, or overnight.

Place chicken and all of the marinade in a 3- or 4-quart slow cooker.

Cook on HIGH for 2-1/2 hours (or on LOW for 5 hours), until the chicken breaks apart easily. (If you're home, stir the chicken once or twice during the cooking time.) Remove the chicken from the cooker; use two forks to shred it, and return the shredded chicken to the cooker. Stir to combine with the liquid. Cover, and continue cooking on HIGH for 15 minutes.

Turn the cooker off and let the chicken sit, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice; it will continue to absorb any excess liquid in the cooker.

Pour the chicken and any liquid into a container. Cover and cool at room temperature. Serve the chicken with pita bread, chopped lettuce and tomato, and your favorite buttermilk ranch-style salad dressing.

Refrigerate leftover chicken for several days, or freeze.