Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Italian Chicken Cacciatore made easy in the crock pot!  

A variation on the popular "hunter style" prepared meal of chicken braised in a richly flavored tomato sauce with vegetables.  A classic that's been around since the Renaissance and is comfort food at it's best!

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Comfort food is calling my name, so it's time to make an Italian favorite, Chicken Cacciatore.  Let's break out the slow cooker!  This version is quick and easy to prepare using boneless chicken breasts or thighs along with vegetables that are slow cooked in the most amazing tomato based sauce.  This is one hearty, family lovin' meal!

Easy enough to serve this on a weeknight yet sophisticated enough to serve at a dinner party.  It's a great dish to bring people together to enjoy the pleasures and flavors of comfort food.

What Ingredients do I need?

• chicken - boneless, skinless breasts 

• onion - yellow or brown

• garlic

• balsamic vinegar - good quality

• crushed tomatoes

• bell pepper - green or red

• mushrooms - I love baby bellas

• Italian seasoning

• red wine - something you would drink

Substitutions and Variations

• Use boneless, skinless thighs or bone-in pieces.  If leaving the skin on it is best to brown the skin side of the chicken in a skillet before adding to a slow cooker. You will also need to add additional time in the slow cooker.  For a lighter version, remove the skin from one in pieces.

• Blend up your own crushed tomatoes using whole roma tomatoes and a blender or food processor.

• Use red, green, yellow, or orange bell peppers or a combination of several.

• If you don't like mushrooms, leave them out.

• If you love olives add those to the sauce.

• Omit the wine if you want this alcoholic free.

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Serve along side pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, polenta, zucchini noodles, crispy roasted potatoes, and crusty bread!

• To thicken the sauce, remove the chicken when it is done and has reached 165 degrees, turn the temperature to high. Add 4 tablespoons of flour to a cup and add in 1/4 cup of the sauce from the slow cooker.  Mix until the flour has dissolved, then add to the slow cooker.  Cook on high for 30 minutes, then add the chicken back to warm through.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

serves 4-6

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 orange bell pepper, sliced into strips
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 cup red wine
To thicken sauce: 4 Tablespoons flour added to 1/4 cup sauce

In a large skillet over medium high heat add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and allow to get hot.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the skillet and cook 1-2 minutes per side, just long enough to brown them.  The chicken will not be cooked through at this point.  

Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker with any pan drippings.  Top the chicken with the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, vinegar, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and wine.  

Cook on LOW 4-5 hours or on HIGH 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Chicken should be cooked through and at a 165 degree temperature.  Remove chicken from the pan and combine the flour and some of the sauce in a small bowl, stirring to combine.  Add flour slurry to the sauce in the crockpot and mix.  Turn the slow cooker temperature to high and allow to cook for 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.  Once thickened return chicken and cook until warmed through, another 15-20 minutes.  Serve.

Southwest Chicken Spaghetti - Slow Cooker Meal

I'm addicted to Pinterest.

I admit it.  It's really out of control.  

I pin...and pin...and pin all these recipes that have me drooling that my "to make" board is loading up so much I'll never make all these wonderful dishes in my lifetime.

I really need to limit myself.  Truly....I found this out the other day when I was looking for a recipe that I pinned last week and couldn't find it.  I had pinned so many other "to make" recipes after it that it was buried.  Buried I tell you.  So far down there that I would swear I pinned that months ago. One would think these are gold rather than recipes.  I'm a Pinterest hoader, that's what I am!   I think I'm wasting more time looking for things I know I pinned. This is NOT good.  Do you know the feeling?  Tell me I'm not alone.

So I decided to stop pinning items "to make" and get in there and make some of them.  Today's dish is something I've been wanting to try for quite a while now.  It's a convenient slow cooker meal which is a time saver on the weekends, or during the week when I want to come home and not have to cook.  Even in the summer the slow cooker can be your friend.  The other plus is that this is a spaghetti dish. Everyone loves spaghetti right?  You'll love this southwest variation.  It has such great flavors. 

I adapted the recipe from this blog (Lauren's Latest).  I love that is so easy to make, basically just dump and go.  The only thing you need to do is cook the spaghetti about 45 min prior to your eating time, which covers your cooking time and melding time with the chicken and the sauce.  So gooey and yummy!

The result is one Pinterest "to make" recipe down!  Woohoo!  ....and another item that I want to add to my repertoire.

Enjoy! 

Southwest Chicken Spaghetti

adapted from Lauren's Latest Crock-Pot cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small can mild diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper, to taste
2 chicken breasts {about 1 lb.}
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4-1 lb. cooked spaghetti
2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese
a few splashes chicken stock {optional}

Directions:

Place chicken in the bottom of the crock-pot.  Add the onion, bell peppers, green chiles, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, mushroom soup and 1 cup of grated cheese on top of the chicken.   Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours or until chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to the pot.   

Cook your spaghetti according to the package directions. Add the cooked noodles to the crock-pot and top with remaining cheese. Toss to coat pasta in sauce and melt cheese, adding in a few splashes of chicken stock if necessary to get sauce consistency you want. Cook another 20-30 minutes on low and serve.

Here's her freezer directions:
**Freezer directions: Place onion, bell peppers, green chiles, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chicken, mushroom soup and 1 cup of grated cheese together in a large plastic freezer bag. Seal and freeze. To cook, defrost in fridge, place in crock-pot and cook according to directions listed above.

Classic Thanksgiving Side Dish: Mashed Potatoes - Make Ahead Tips!

Don't you just love a potato?

Potatoes today symbolize comfort, especially around the holidays.  They are earthy-tasting, easy to prepare, and are compatible with many other foods and adaptable to all sorts of cooking methods.

Let's talk a little about potatoes...
There are three basic types of potato varieties: starchy, waxy, and all-purpose.

• Starchy or mealy potatoes, such as russets, are best for baking and mashing because they cook up dry and fluffy, but do not hold their shape well.

• Waxy potatoes, such as red or white potatoes, are low in starch.  Use them for potato salads and other recipes where you want them to hold their shape and are not relying on their starch content to thicken a soup or sauce. (Great for roasting!)

• All-purpose potatoes have a medium starch content and are good for both uses.  Yukon Golds are among the best known.

Select potatoes that are firm, not blemished, wrinkled, tinged with green, or cracked.  The eyes, of the potatoes should not have sprouted.

Store them in a cool dark place with good circulation for up to 2 weeks. Don't put them with onions!  These two veggies together produce gases that cause rapid spoilage.  Best when used 2 or 3 days from purchase for their fresh sweet flavor and texture.

Mashed Potato Techniques

Cooking the Potatoes:  Boiling whole potatoes with their skins on keeps the potatoes from becoming waterlogged, improving the texture of the final dish, and help to prevent nutrients from being lost in the water.  If you want to boil peeled potatoes, cut them into small cubs so that they cook quickly and are exposed to the water as briefly as possible.

Courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

KITCHEN TIPS:

• Ricing, hand mashing, using a mixer...it's up to you and what you prefer. 

• One great tip is to melt your butter and heat some half and half or cream with it to a warm temperature.  When you add warm milk and butter as you are mashing the potatoes they will stay nice and hot. 

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

This has been my go to method for several years now and they always turn out wonderful!  

1.  Boil and mash your potatoes early in the day.  
2.  Then place the completed dish in a crock pot on low.  
3.  Add a little cream on top and let them sit there until dinner time. (I would say for 5 hours at most)  
4.  Stir and serve.  You will always have HOT potatoes!

My favorite Mashed Potato recipes

Mashed Potatoes and Celery Root

by Williams-Sonoma

Also known as celeriac, celery root is a knobby, round winter vegetable that contributes a subtle celery flavor to purees when cooked and a crisp crunch to salads when used raw. In this recipe, celery root is mashed with potatoes, giving the dish a lighter texture than if potatoes alone were used, and an interesting, fresh taste that matches well with full-flavored foods such as roast turkey. Both peeled celery root and potatoes discolor quickly when exposed to air and should be immersed in water if not cooked at once to prevent discoloring.

Ingredients:

2 large celery roots, about 2 lb. total, peeled and cut into slices 1 inch thick 

2 1/2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into slices 1 inch thick

Kosher salt, to taste

3/4 cup half-and-half

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

Freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Directions:

Put the celery roots and potatoes in separate large saucepans. Add water to cover and a large pinch of kosher salt to each pan. Bring both to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Just before they are done, place an ovenproof serving bowl in a 200°F oven. (There is no need to preheat the oven.)

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the half-and-half and 2 Tbs. of the butter and heat until the butter melts. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm. Drain the potatoes and celery root, then return them to one of the large saucepans and set over medium-low heat; shake the pan until the vegetables begin to stick to the bottom. Remove from the heat.

Pass the vegetables through a ricer into the warmed serving bowl. Alternatively, pass the vegetables through a food mill, or mash them in the pan with a potato masher. Stir in the warm half-and-half mixture. Season with kosher salt and white pepper. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and swirl the top of the puree. Top with the remaining 1 Tbs. butter and serve immediately. If necessary, keep warm in a 200°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or cover the bowl and set it in a pan of hot water.

Classic Mashed Potatoes

by Williams-Sonoma
Ingredients:

5 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups half-and-half, heated
salt & pepper

 

Directions:

Put the potatoes and the 2 tsp. salt in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 3 inches and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well in a colander.

Place hot potatoes in the large bowl of a mixer.  Mix on medium low speed until potatoes are smooth.  Add butter and a little half and half at a time until your desired consistency is reached.  Add salt and pepper to taste.   Serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10.

Picture courtesy of Southern Living.com

Cheesy Potato Soup (Cooking for Two)

I just bought a new slow cooker.  A cute little 2 1/2 qt one.  One for just me and my man.  Small little intimate meals.

Actually that sounds nice and all but I bought with the thought of soups in mind.  Love soups, and during this cold spell we can't shake, they are great to warm your soul.  So while we are out running around during the day I can have a great soup waiting for us when we get home.  Soups on!

So I been cooking soups quite a bit lately experimenting with my new toy.  I typically like clear broth soups.  I just love the flavor of broths.  That didn't last long when I came across this crockpot recipe for Cheesy Potato Soup (Cooking for Two) in a Pillsbury.com email. How perfect is that?  A new tool and a new soup for it's debut.  Something about the fact that there is CHEESE in this potato soup appealed to me.  Sounds like a loaded baked potato with the bacon on the top.  Who wouldn't like that?

So as it turned out this soup was fantastic.  Creamy, cheesy, comfort food.  Perfect on a cold night with some hot rolls and a salad.  So if you are looking for a simple comfort food dish...look below for the recipe.  Oh, and if you want to feed more people, just double the recipe and use the standard 4 or 5 qt crockpot.

Cheers to my new 2 1/2 qt crockpot!  I'll be putting the large one away for another day.

Cheesy Potato Soup (Cooking for Two)

By Pillsbury

serves 3

2 slices bacon

¾ cup chopped onion

2 ½ cups diced peeled russet potatoes (about 3 small)

¼ cup chopped celery

2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from a 32-oz carton)

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup half-and-half

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (from an 8 oz bag)

In 10-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned and crispy. Remove from skillet, reserving fat in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towel, then refrigerate. In same skillet, cook onion in bacon fat over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.

Spray 3- to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, mix onion, potatoes, celery, broth, salt and pepper.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 7 hours.

In small bowl, beat flour and half-and-half with wire whisk until well blended; stir into soup. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook about 20 minutes longer or until thickened. Stir in cheese until well melted. Crumble bacon; sprinkle over soup.