Stew? Roast? Non-Braised Chicken? I occasionally experiment in the kitchen by tossing together rather arbitrary mixes of whatever I have handy.  

Tonight I'm making something which I would call a stew, but with much less liquid. It's in the crockpot where it should be ready in about three hours.  It's not braised chicken, because I did start without the pre-cooking that "braising" implies.  I'd be inclined to call it a roast but it's being done very slowly.

So, of curiosity, what would be the best term for it?

Here's what I did:

* wash/scrub and trim four large carrots
* eat two tangerines, washing the rinds 
  and placing them in the bottom of the crock pot (under 
  the carrots which now form a sort of gridiron)
* add in a whole yellow onion (peeled and quartered) 
  and a couple of shallots and whole potatoes 
 (forming a ring around the edges)
* season four raw chicken thighs which seasoned salt,
  chili powder, minced ginger, whole cloves, and oregano
  and place those on the bed of carrots. with just enough
  water to submerge the carrots
* put a small pat of butter on the top of each piece of chicken


So you can see why it's like a stew or a roast but not quite either of them.

What is it?
Sounds to me like you are making an American interpretation of a Pot au Feu chicken. When making a Pot au Feu neither browning the chicken nor fully covering the chicken with water is necessary as long as the lid is very tight to hold the steam.