Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Cacciatore

Anyone who knows my husband (his name is Richard) knows that he LOVES spicy food. And when I say LOVES (in all caps), I'm not exaggerating. At any given time in our house, you can look in the fridge or pantry and find at least one supremely spicy snack that Rich regularly devours when he returns home from work each day. Ghost pepper peanuts and Ass Kickin' Original salsa are among his favorites, I believe, but he'll pretty much take anything that totes an "insanely hot!" warning on its label. When I tell him something is (or should be) spicy, it's a bit of a double-edged sword; he's both excited to try it and doubtful that he'll actually agree. 

I'm telling you this as a bit of a warning; when I made this recipe, Rich said "this actually has some heat to it." So yes, it's a bit spicy. But it's also unbelievably good. Don't like spice? Reduce the crushed red pepper, or leave it out all together. I'm pretty sure you'll still love it. 

Cooking Light gets all the credit for this one, and I've linked the original recipe for you below; as you'll see, I really only made slight changes.  

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Original recipe by Phillip Rhodes, Cooking Light (March 2014) - click here for original recipe

All-purpose flour

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1 tbs olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 large red bell peppers, chopped

8 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup tomato puree

2 tbs capers

2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1 can unsalted petite diced tomatoes

2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Add flour to shallow bowl and dredge chicken thighs in flour. Shake off excess.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil, swirling to coat. Add chicken thighs and cook for 4 minutes on each side. 

Add chicken to slow cooker and reduce heat under skillet to medium. 

Add onion, bell pepper and garlic to skillet and cook for 4 minutes, stirring often. Add wine and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add to slow cooker.

Add tomato puree, capers, crushed red pepper, dried oregano, black pepper, kosher salt and diced tomatoes (with juice) to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.

Serve over mashed potatoes or polenta as desired and sprinkle with parsley. 

Until next time...

Cheers!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

My oldest daughter, Zoey, absolutely loves to help me in the kitchen. I try to come up with different ways that she can help me with every dish that I make - easier said than done, sometimes. That's why we both love slow cooker recipes. Generally little to no prep, and hardly any technique required!

This slow cooker white chicken chili is a favorite in our house, and I love how easy it is to make and enjoy. It also freezes wonderfully, so feel free to double the batch and store some for later.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Recipe by Laura Taylor

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 cups chicken broth

2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans (4.5 oz each) Old El Paso chopped green chiles

1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Dash ground red pepper (cayenne), if desired

Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low 6 hours. Remove chicken and shred using 2 forks. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir to combine. 

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, cilantro and tortilla strips.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Mushroom & Chicken Marsala Bowls

So far in 2016, I've made it a point to try some new things in the kitchen. The other day, for example, I poached eggs for the very first time (they were perfect - I'm sure I won't be able to replicate that experience the next time I try, lol). Today's recipe includes an ingredient I've never tried before. That ingredient? Chicken thighs.

I've never made them myself, and I can't even be 100% confident that I've actually eaten them before, either. Perhaps unknowingly? Unintentionally? I just don't know. I do know, however, that my husband is extremely picky when it comes to chicken, and, because of that, I've always steered clear of recipes that call for chicken thighs in the past (or I made them anyway and simply subbed chicken breasts). Not this time, though. This time I figured, heck, why not try it? This recipe seemed like the perfect one to use as an experiment, seeing as how it calls for more mushrooms than it does chicken (and my husband loves mushrooms). I'm so glad we tried it. Not only was it good the first night I made it, it was also successful as leftovers, believe it or not. We'll definitely be making it again!

 

Mushroom & Chicken Marsala Bowls

Adapted from Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2016

 

2 1/2 tbs butter

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup chicken stock

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tbs canola oil

1 package fresh baby spinach

8 oz sliced white mushrooms

8 oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup minced shallots

1 1/2 tbs chopped fresh thyme

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dry Marsala wine

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 black pepper

 

Melt 1 1/2 tsp butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add quinoa to pan and saute 3 minutes. Add 3/4 cup stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 tsp salt.

 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tsp oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add spinach and cook for 1 1/2 minutes or just until wilted. Remove and set aside.

 

Melt 1 1/2 tsp butter in pan and add 1 1/2 tsp oil. Swirl to coat. Add mushrooms and cook for 8 minutes, stirring to brown on all sides. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

 

Add remaining oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add chicken and saute 4 minutes, stirring to brown on all sides. Add shallots, thyme and garlic and saute for 1 1/2 minutes. Add wine and remaining chicken stock. Cook until liquid is reduced and becomes slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining butter, mustard, pepper and salt. Stir constantly until butter melts, then stir in mushrooms and spinach. Serve over quinoa.

 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!



Weeknight Bites: Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

This week has been nothing short of hectic, so I've been utilizing my favorite quick and easy recipes as much as possible! In fact, I've been so busy this week that I didn't even have time to take a picture of today's recipe...a shame, really, because this particular meal is one of my favorites. Why? It's one of the easiest dinners you'll EVER make (seriously - just wait until you see the recipe), it requires my favorite cooking method (the slow cooker!) and the reward is enormous for the little amount of effort you'll put into getting everything set up. Honestly, the hardest thing you'll have to do for this meal is to figure out a time when everyone can sit down together and eat it!

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

1 cup water

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 package italian seasoning mix for Italian dressing*

Place/pour all ingredients into a slow cooker and set to low. Cook 8-10 hours and serve.

This very well may be the shortest and simplest recipe that I ever have or will give you - but hey, it's delicious, and you can pair it with pretty much any side you could ever dream up. This week, I kept it super simple by making this chicken along with two veggies (spinach and corn) that only took a few minutes to prepare. I'm a huge fan of Birds Eye Steam Fresh frozen veggies, and I make sure to stock up on some whenever my grocery store has them on sale. This dish is very versatile as fair as pairing goes. I've made it with mashed potatoes, green beans, black-eyed peas, pasta...the list goes on. Heck, you could even grab some toasted sourdough and make a great sandwich with it...just add some spicy argula and some roasted red peppers and you're good to go! I think I'll try that next...

*Italian seasoning can be replaced with dry Ranch dressing mix for a Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken that's ALSO super yummy. I've made both and love them!

Now, I'm going to kick off my shoes and watch some TV for awhile. It's been a long week, and I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. Stay tuned for more recipes, coming up soon!

Cheers!