Chicken Cacciatore - Crock Pot Version

           With the New Year underway, many of us are trying to eat healthier and to stay on a budget by preparing delicious food at home rather than eating out.  Here is a delicious Chicken Cacciatore recipe that will help you do just that.  It is hearty and delicious. 
              

     I was having people over for dinner, so we were going to feed around 7 of us on Saturday night, so I decided to adapt the normal recipe for Chicken Cacciatore a little and make it crock pot friendly so everything could be cooking and ready while I cleaned the house! 

      Click on the pictures in the gallery to see what I did. 

I heated the pan on high for 1 min. before adding the oil. This will cause the molecules in the pan to expand, making your pan more non-stick. She used chicken breasts, but I used thighs, because that is what I had. Besides, that makes the portion size a little smaller.

Brown the chicken presentation side down first! I don't know if presentation side is so important in a crock pot dish, but the browning does add caramelization to the chicken and the pan for added flavor in the sauce.

You can use all fresh tomatoes in your sauce. I didn't have enough for the number of people I was serving so I used a couple of fresh tomatoes to add that fresh taste to 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes.

Before sauteing your onions and garlic, drain off the dark oil from browning the chicken and just use the caramelized bits. Add a little more oil and begin by sauteing the onions until they are soft. If you need to add more oil, add it at the side of the pan so it would heat up a bit before it hits the food. When the onions are about ready, add the garlic.

I don't cook with wine, so I used a tomato-chicken broth to deglaze the pan and to continue simmering the onions and garlic.

You add the tomatoes and seasoning and get this delicious, rich sauce. Taste it to make sure if you need salt or not.

In a greased crock pot, I layered the sauce and the chicken. sauce, then chicken, then sauce, etc.

When it is all finished, it is bubbly and flavorful.

        At this point, I removed the chicken to a dish and I put the sauce in a separate dish.  I also prepared some fettuccine noodles to serve it all over.  Then, I added a salad and some bread and we were set!  Here is my version of the recipe:

Chicken Cacciatore-Crock Pot Style

           I served it up and we all enjoyed the dish and I realized that I hadn't taken a picture of the finished plate!  But, I hope you can tell from all of the photos above that it was delicious.  I made plenty, so we had leftovers the next day.  It was so good.  

          I was so happy with this recipe.  I hope you will give it a try! Let me know if you do and how you like it. 

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