Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

I’m a lover of all foods Italian….unless they include fish. Or cabbage. Or bleu cheese. So, let’s just say I love all Italian foods except Italian Fish Bleu Cheese Cabbage Casserole. Moving on! Chicken Cacciatore is a delicious dish. Putting it in the crock pot can only make it better….and easier. It’s a win-win. That’s Amore!

You’ll need chicken thighs (boneless), green pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, onion, chicken broth, salt, pepper, arrowroot powder, water, and garlic. Put your chicken in the bottom of your crock pot. You will want to butter it first – the crock, not the chicken…..although, adding butter can only make it better. I forgot to grease my crock and it was rather difficult to clean. Uh, oops? I’m always doing stuff like that. I should just tape butter to my head so I won’t forget. Adding butter can only make me better. Right?

I pulled out some frozen pepper for this dish. I buy a ton during pepper season and then chop them up to have whenever I need them. They come in handy often…..especially since I tend to buy peppers, put them in the veggie drawer and then let them grow mold. Uh, oops?

In order to make the paste mix up a bit better, go ahead and whisk it together with your chicken broth. Otherwise you’ll have a huge clump of tomato paste in your crock that you can’t get stirred in. No good.

For this to be an Italian dish of course we need garlic and Italian seasoning. You also need salt and pepper. I won’t tell you that I took this photo three times because first I forgot the garlic, second I forgot the pepper, and third, the lid of the garlic powder was dirty so I had to wash it off and re-take it. But, I’m not going to tell you that part.

On top of the chicken, put the pepper and onion. Then, pour your tomato chicken broth over top of that. Sprinkle the seasonings next and finally top it all off with your diced tomatoes, juice included.

The sun was weird the day I took these photos, so I just went with it. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

About 7 hours into this business, make a paste from your arrowroot powder and water. I like arrowroot powder better than cornstarch as a thickener. Plus, those with corn allergies can use it happily. And yes, I do regularly use Annie’s utensils to cook with. Stir the mixture into your Cacciatore and let it continue to cook the last hour. It’ll get nice and thick. It’s a beautiful thing.

After 8 hours, you’ll have a nice thick sauce and very tender chicken. See! It was superb! (I just wanted a reason to say superb). And the house smelled like Italy – or what I think Italy would smell like. I probably won’t ever see (or smell) Italy unless I can figure out a way to get there that doesn’t involve a plane or boat.

I served ours over a bed of whole wheat penne pasta. Even Annie ate it – and that’s a thumbs up for me! Crock on!

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