Saturday, February 5, 2011

52 Weeks of Crazy Crock Potting!

Get out your crock pot!
I have another delicious dish for you.


First let me explain.
Yes, some crockpot recipes just ask you to dump raw food into a pot, let it cook and voila! you have a meal.
But most of the GOOD recipes demand a little bit more work.
But it's soooo worth it.
Really!  Trust me!


In my personal cookbook,
I have an old recipe card for Chicken Cacciatore that my grandfather typed up on a TYPEWRITER sometime back in the old days (like the 60's or earlier).
It's so sweet.  He even has handwritten notes and changes scratched on the card.


He was a first generation immigrant from Italy.
So I think he knows how to make Chicken Cacciatore!


I've adapted it for the Crock Pot!
Enjoy!


CHICKEN CACCIATORE


8 Chicken Thighs
Salt & Pepper
1 Cup Flour
1/4 C Olive Oil
1 Green Bell Pepper, quartered and sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper, quartered and sliced
1 Onion, halved and sliced
8 oz Mushrooms, quartered
1 can Black Olives, drained
5 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 C White Wine (yeah, I use cooking wine and I don't measure.  I just pour some in)
2 - 14.5 oz Diced Tomatoes with the juice
1 C Chicken broth
3 Tablespoons Capers, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
1/4 C Fresh Basil, chopped
1/4 C Fresh Parlsey, chopped


Do NOT remove the skin from the chicken! Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper - be generous.  Dredge them in flour to coat lightly.  Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat and brown the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side.  They should be nicely browned.  Set the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.  Do not drain the oil out of the pan.  Add the peppers, onion and garlic to the pan and saute until the onion is tender - about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and olives and saute another 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half - about 3-4 minutes.  Resist the temptation to just sit down at the counter with the entire pan and eat it!  Dump the whole pan over the chicken in the crock pot.  Pour in the tomatoes and the broth.  Add the capers and the herbs.  Cook for about 5-6 hours on high or 7-8 on low.  Serve over fettucine with a big salad and warm bread.
Mmmm.......mmmmm!


Here's the before pic-
Oh MY!  It's Beautiful!

And here's the after......oh shoot!
We didn't take a picture!
Why are we always too hungry to stop and take pictures?
My family would KILL me if I delayed dinner another second!
Sorry!
Gina

3 comments:

valerie said...

Mmmmm...looks yoummy! I thought maybe you were going to take on the crock pot challenge! lol

Raven said...

That looks delicious, but may be a little advanced for my cooking skills!

Unknown said...

It looks delicious but I'd have to leave out the mushrooms and olives for my family. Okay, for me, just not a fan. But I love my crockpot too; it's the best way I've found to make a pot roast yet!