Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Working and commuting so much has made me embrace my slow cooker. A familiar fav is my Chicken Cacciatore which I continue to adapt and work on. I don't know what it is but I am not impressed with most C.C. recipe's. They are lacking in flavour and are too simple.

That's right Delia Smith and America's Test Kitchen: your recipes are boring.

Maybe my adaptation is not traditionally Italian. Who cares? It's good.

Miss Loverly's Chicken Cacciatore
4 large chicken breasts, skin on, with bone
A can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of dried mushrooms (assorted is good)
1/4 cup of Kalamata Black Olives (remove the pits yourself)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, diced
white wine
1 bay leaf
1 heaping tablespoon of dried Italian herbs
salt
pepper
fresh basil if you have it (not necessary)
pasta or rice to serve with

While this recipe may be made in a crock pot, you can as easily make this in a large cast iron pot to cook away slowly on the stove or in the oven.

1. Boil your kettle and let your dried mushrooms seep in half a cup of the hot water. After fifteen minutes, take your mushrooms and dice them. Save the water.

2. Place your chicken in the crock pot. If you are diet conscious, remove the skin. Sometimes I like to do half with skin on and half without. This time it's sans skin. Bone in is ideal for flavour. Salt and pepper your chicken. Add your onions and Italian herbs.

3. Add your garlic, onions and olives. Add the chopped dried mushrooms and it's seeped liquid. Add your can of diced tomatoes, a bay leaf and one cup or more of white wine (just ensure that the chicken is submerged). Make sure your ingredients are well distributed and stir if they are not. Set your crock pot on for 6 hours. If you are to make this on the stove, a slow two hours is good.

4. As there is quite a bit of liquid, you may add rice directly to the crock pot and wait for it to cook, testing it ever so often to see if it is ready. Remember brown rice takes longer! If you are adding to pasta, you may like to take the top off of the crock pot and let some of the liquid simmer off. You may also add a tablespoon of cornstarch and hot water (well mixed) to the sauce to thicken as well.

5. Adding some fresh torn basil is completely optional though it is a great addition.

Why this recipe works:
The dried mushrooms add an earthy-ness to the dish and don't water down the sauce.
The olives add saltiness.
The basil is just darn good and extremely Italian.
It is so easy!