For dinner tonight, I made Tuscan Chicken Stew in the slow cooker. I thought it would be the perfect meal for a cold and rainy weekend. I must say that I stepped out for a few minutes this afternoon while the dish was cooking, and when I returned, the house smelled like a bistro. I served it with an improvised sourdough garlic bread with cheese. The dish was pretty good: something I could serve again, but not something that will be clamored for.

The original recipe came to me with pre-measured spice packets attached, which I assume is a marketing strategy to help discrete spices compete against the wide variety of boxed mixes and instant meals on the market today. My changes were mainly to the procedure, though I opted to use fresh ingredients as opposed to canned, and to add just a bit more wine.

Tuscan Chicken Stew

• 8 oz. dried navy beans
• 2 T olive oil
• 1-1/2 lb Chicken Tenderloins, chopped into chunks
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 t fennel seed
• 1 t basil
• 1 t minced garlic
• 1 t rosemary
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1 t salt
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 c red wine
• 6 oz spinach leaves

1. Soak beans overnight, rinse and drain. Place into slow cooker.
2. Heat oil, brown chicken on both sides. Place into slow cooker.
3. Briefly saute onion and fennel seed. Place into slow cooker.
4. Chop tomatoes. Place into slow cooker along with remaining herbs and red wine.
5. Cook for 7 hours on low. Stir in spinach five minutes before serving.