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