Oh my, this was a heavenly recipe, my friends. It’s everything you want a slow cooker recipe to be: easy to throw together, makes your home smell insane all day, and serves up a bowl of comfort for dinner. This one really delivered.
I have to say part of me, well, misses dinner when I use the slow cooker. Come 5:30, I’m kind of sort of just wandering around my kitchen looking for something to dice – chop – simmer.
But this recipe is totally worth giving up that 5:30 prep, should you love it as much as I do. And it gives you the gift of time for the other million things you’ve got going on… football carpool, homework, conference calls, laundry, your three year old’s endless obsession with baseball in the yard, the dry cleaning your husband texted you to pick up and you tooootally forgot so you’re racing to the dry cleaners before they close.
Whoops.
Hey, I made it in time. And he came home to this dinner without knowing otherwise. 😉
- 6-8 boneless chicken thighs, I left mine whole
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks of celery, sliced
- 1 small-medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 12 baby potatoes, left whole
- 1¾ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp red wine
- ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed up (use the side of your knife)
- ¼ cup water
- 2½ tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tsp balsamic vinegar
- tso of freshly chopped rosemary
- ½ tsp salt {to taste}
- Just to develop the flavor more, I browned the chicken in a bit of olive oil before putting in the crock pot. This is totally optional though.
- Toss chicken (either raw, or browned), carrots, celery, onion, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, wine, and crushed up fennel seeds into the slow cooker and cook on the low for 4-6 hours.
- Just before serving, combine the corn starch with the water and mix until no lumps remain.
- Add the water/cornstarch, balsamic vinegar, rosemary and salt to the crock pot. Taste and add additional salt and/or pepper if necessary.
- Serve with freshly chopped parsley and hunks of bread for dipping.
- Chopped up parsley to garnish, optional. Crusty bread - not optional
