Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

I love watching the show "Throwdown with Bobby Flay", its always lots of fun and a great forum for delish foods. Now as much as I love Bobby, I have to admit that in the episode where he went up against a firehouse cook, you knew who was gonna win that one, at least in my mind. Firemen KNOW how to cook. I mean what is it about them, they all know how to make mean meals. God love firemen! So when Keith Young made his chicken cacciatore I knew I had to try it out, and sure enough it has never failed to please. But because I'm always short on time I'm going to try and change it up a little. So bear with me and cross your fingers that my beloved crockpot can "stand the heat" and fire up this fireman food! Hehe, ok enough of the fireman puns, lets get cooking. (ok sorry I just had to do one more)

Menu: Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore over white or brown rice

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

Flour, to coat chicken
2 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) chickens, cut into 8 pieces with the breasts cut into 1/3's (remember I'm using leftover drumsticks)
3/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
10 to 12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
2 green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup dry white wine
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with their juice, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped

1. Place the flour in a shallow dish and coat the chicken pieces, shaking off any excess.
   
2. Add the chicken to the crockpot. Add the garlic and the mushrooms. Add the onion and bell peppers.
3. Add the wine and the chicken broth, tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt oregano and tomato paste.
   
4. Allow to simmer on a low heat setting. Depending on your time needs and crockpot we want to watch to make sure that our veggies don't turn to mush but we want the chicken to be fully cooked and falling off the bone.
5. If you want to thicken it up, remember the cornstarch trick and give it 30 minutes before adding in the fresh basil just before serving.

This dish goes well with any pasta or rice and tastes even better the following day.

Menu Plan Monday - September 8

Phew last week was a whirlwind! As a former waitress I will say with great emphasis that I was in the WEEDS! Mostly it was while at work so by the time I got home I was to tired to do anything. You should see my house, it's a wreck. On second thought I'd never let anyone see that disaster. The Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas were delicious, a little too sweet for our tastes though. I think next time we'll leave the remaining marinade out of the cream sauce. Other than that everything went just as planned with the exception of my sandwich on Saturday. I forgot to take the meat out of the crockpot before I left for the rehearsal and of course hubby didn't even think about it. So that was a bust. I'll be trying it again another time when I can babysit it. This week should be calm in comparison so I'll be trying out lots of new yummy meals.

Monday
Dinner: Pan-Seared Salmon with Pineapple-Jalapeno Relish served with coconut rice

Another great CookingLight recipe: Tangy, spicy and fruity, this inviting recipe belies its simple preparation. Seed the jalapeño pepper if you prefer a milder dish, and serve over coconut rice accompanied by a crunchy salad.

Recipe and photo courtesy of CookingLight.com


Tuesday
Dinner: The Best Lasagna Ever!, crisp ceasar salad and garlic bread
I'm always looking for a great lasagna recipes, not sure why it's been so hard to find one that I'm in love with, so I'm giving the Pioneer Woman's lasagna a shot. Seems pretty simple and simple is always a win in my book.

Recipe and photo courtesy of PioneerWoman

Wednesday
Dinner: Crockpot Chicken Piccata, garlic mashed potatoes and seasoned peas

My take on chicken piccata, adding artichoke hearts and using my favorite cooking convenience, my crockpot.

Recipe and photo courtesy of FoodNetwork.com


Thursday
Dinner: Chicken Spaghetti and steamed green beans

Another recipe from the Pioneer Woman. I'm trying out some of her recipes because I know she feeds a large crew and well I need all the leftovers I can get this week since the boys will be fending for themselves this weekend.

Recipe and photo courtesy of PioneerWoman


Friday - Rehearsal for tomorrow's wedding, I'll be home late but the boys will have stuff ready for them.
Dinner: Crockpot Apple and Onion-Stuffin' Pork Chops with Orange-Pineapple Gravy

Found this recipe on the FoodNetwork but I think I'm going to play around with it and turn it into a crockpot recipe and add boxed stuffing to it. I'm not making any promises on this concoction but in my head it sounds delish!

Photo courtesy of FoodNetwork.com

Saturday - Another wedding so the boys will be fending for themselves.
Breakfast: FFY
Lunch:FFY
Dinner: Leftovers

Sunday
Breakfast: Orange Pecan French Toast Casserole (you'll think you died and went to heaven)
Lunch: Sandwiches, if we really need anything after breakfast
Dinner: "Already Married Chicken", roasted potatoes and asparagus (an advanced version of "Engagement Chicken" for those gals who have already "scored" their man and are looking for a diamond upgrade or of course just want to be sweet)

And of course here's your shopping list for the week....

September 8th Shopping List

As always, stay turned for the recipes to be posted bright & early each morning, or the night before.

Pepper Steak

This recipe comes from the best book for budget friendly, not so figure friendly but beginner's guide to cooking cookbook "Where's Mom Now That I Need Her". I started out with the intention of following the recipe to a t, Pork Chops & Rice. However after defrosting 2 sets of wild pork chops (again my great hubby) I realized they had been in the freezer too long and had severe freezer burn so scratch that. Quickly found some round steak (venison thanks to the hubby) in the freezer and made a quick change to the recipe. I had only bought 1 green bell pepper so it was going to be a variation on traditional pepper steak.

Crockpot Pepper Steak & Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of round steak
• 2 tbsp of chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tbsp of white or yellow onion
• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil (I use EVOO)
• 1 cup of rice (I used brown)
• 1/2 cup of flour
• salt & pepper to taste

Set crockpot to low, either 8 or 10 hours depending your time needs

1. Take steak and place between 2 sheets of ceran wrap and pound vigerously until meat is very thin. Doesn't that feel good, go on get all your frustrations out. Dang dog, dang husband, stupid clothes that don't fit anymore! Omit this step if your meat has already been prepared this way, though I'd suggest doing it yourself since its lots of fun.
2. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Coat steaks in flour and place on bottom of crockpot.
3. Next chop your onion and bell pepper and add to crockpot.
4. Add rice and open can of tomatoes pouring on top of rice. Add the evoo and cover.
5. Occasionally check and stir mixture together.
6. Once rice has been cooked to your desired texture, plate and serve.