Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

Have I mentioned that life in the Big Flavors house is absolutely craaaazy these days? I’ll be honest, recently many dinners in this house have consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or some Chinese food take-out. Hey, it can’t always been homemade three course meals and picture perfect desserts, although that would definitely be nice.  Luckily, last weekend slowed down for a few minutes, and I had the time to utilize my favorite busy-life kitchen tool.  If you’ve been following along, by now you know I am a huge fan of the crockpot - it’s quick, easy, and always tasty.  In fact, I can’t think of a crockpot meal that  I’ve made and didn’t like.

And, crockpot cooking almost always feeds a crowd.  If you have guests staying with you this Thanksgiving weekend, this is the perfect meal to throw in the crockpot. (Once the turkey leftovers are all eaten up, of course.)  With this recipe, eight people are eating a hearty dinner, and all you did was brown up some chicken and throw it in the pot with some staple pantry ingredients. This means you can spend all day with your family, and not have to worry about putting an awesome meal on the table.  The crockpot is doing all of the hard work for you!

In most cases, I totally skip any of that pre-throweverythinginthecrockpot-work. But for this recipe, it’s worth that extra 10 minutes and dirty pan to pan fry the chicken in some oil, so the skin gets crispy and flavorful. Because you’re cooking this dish for six hours, the meat is literally falling off the bone. It’s so tender and juicy from simmering in the crushed tomato sauce all day.  And, the tomato sauce, with its big slices of onion and pepper, is perfect for slurping up with some pasta.  My very new favorite pasta shape happens to be perciatelli, a thick long noodle with the very important hollow center. I love a good noodle that soaks up the sauce!

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

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Serves	8
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	6 hours
Total time	6 hours, 30 minutes
Meal type	Main Dish

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 28oz crushed tomatoes (preferable san marzano)
• 1 white onion (sliced)
• 1 green pepper (sliced)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

1.	In a large pan over medium high heat, add olive oil. Once hot, add chicken skin side down. Cook for 7-10 minutes, not moving the chicken around, allowing the skin to crisp up. Turn chicken over, continue cooking for 5 minutes more.
2.	Place half of the tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, herbs, red pepper flakes, sugar, and red wine in the crockpot. Add chicken thighs then top with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Remove lid during last hour to let sauce thicken up.
3.	Serve with your favorite pasta.

Shared with: Full Plate Thursday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Recipe Round Up

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