Simple Slow-Cooker Chicken

Chicken cacciatore

In all the Christmas hub-bub, I neglected to write down the details of this food experience. Some things do stand out in my mind though, so I will jot them down here and expand on them when I make this meal again.

Modifications: 5 chicken breasts and fresh mushrooms instead of canned.

Preparation: Pretty simple. After slicing the chicken in half, there were only a few vegetables to chop. Browning the chicken took only a few minutes. When the meal was finished cooking, I left it on the "warm" setting while I cooked linguine to serve with it.

Verdict: My Mom's trick when selling a house was to make bread before prospective buyers came to visit, so that the smell of fresh, homemade bread filled the house. I suspect making this chicken cacciatore would bring about a similar effect. It was a strong tomato-thyme scent of comfort food that I quiet enjoyed.

The chicken responded to slow-cooking in acidic tomato by falling apart at the touch of a utensil. You could shred the chicken before serving, but I just left it in whole pieces.

This is a recipe that could be easily tweaked - add more seasonings, change the veggies, skip the wine. The thyme was a great part of the dish, but I think that slow-cooking it with basil would be wonderful, too.

Made about 8 servings