So apparently it’s Dad Week on Our Best Bites! I actually had another recipe planned for today, but I feel like I’m still working out the kinks on that one. As it stands, that’s one’s a little mustardy. So yeah, I was at a loss for what I’d post today and then I remembered that I’ve had this recipe hanging out on my computer for months now. Today’s the day.
Remove from pan and set on a papertowel.
Add chicken broth, wine, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender and blend it until smooth.
Place chicken in a slow-cooker and pour that yummy sauce right over it. Pop in a bay leaf on top and cook for a few hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the chopped green pepper. When it’s all done serve over your favorite pasta with a little parmesan and fresh herbs if you feel like it. (And doesn’t feel like cheese??)
1 lb. chicken breasts or chicken breasts and thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon (this is why you need to keep the onion and garlic pieces big), shake off excess oil (you don’t have to go crazy here, a little olive oil never killed anyone!), and transfer to your blender. Increase heat to medium-high.
While chicken is draining, add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3.5-4 hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the chopped green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta.
1 lb. chicken breasts or chicken breasts and thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 c. white flour
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, peeled and either crushed or halved
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 c. white wine (you can also use apple or white grape juice mixed with 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar)
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using cooking wine; you may shrivel up and die if you add the salt in addition to cooking wine because cooking wine is treated with salt to make it undrinkable)
1 bay leaf
1 c. sliced mushrooms (or more if you love them. Mushrooms are divine in this dish!)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon (this is why you need to keep the onion and garlic pieces big), shake off excess oil (you don’t have to go crazy here, a little olive oil never killed anyone!), and transfer to your blender. Increase heat to medium-high.
While chicken is draining, add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3.5-4 hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the chopped green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta.
FREEZER MEAL INSTRUCTIONS:
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Yum yum yum! I am positive it is delish!
Yum!! And I agree about tasting better with wine. I just started cooking with wine a few years ago, and will never be able to go back now ( : It just adds so much more richness and depth of flavor. My little black dress meal would be. . . maybe BLT pasta. I’ll probably have a different answer in 10 more minutes ( :
Yum, that pictures looks great Kate! I love that it’s foodie-memories of Dad week :)
My comment is for all of the teetotallers out there (don’t know what a teetotaller is? google it!) because I know we have a lot.
This isn’t my recipe, so Kate can totally correct or shun me, but this is my 2 cents! I made this once with just a cheap cooking wine and the poor quality of the wine totally ruined the meal. So if you’re not a drinker and aren’t used to cooking with wine, I’d say:
1. At the very least avoid the cheapest cooking wine, or
2. Ask for a recommendation for a good, inexpensive regular wine.
3. Use a substitution like the juice
Because with the right choice, the meal is fabulous! (Proved by the fact that Kate drinks the sauce…obviously she’s putting in the real stuff! lol)
We’re going to make this tonight! I’m excited. Oh, and maybe we’d try to white wine just for you, except I’d rather not make two trips. One to the grocery store and one to the liquor store, lol :)
Kara M.
My little black dress meal is a pasta dish too, pasta putanesca. Yum!
Thank you for the freezer meal instructions! I am looking to stock up with another little ‘un on the way
Looks delicious..it seems great with pasta !
Btw,thanks Sara for your visit and comment on my blog..
We just ate this for diner, and we both loved it (shocking!!). Awesome! Thanks Kate.
Kara M.
Mmmmm that looks absolutely delish!
Next time I make Pasta this is a definate MUST!!
Thanks for sharing!
this looks super yummy to me..will try this tonight
LOVE this dinner! It was great to have in my freezer when we had a little baby in the house. For some reason though, the pictures of yours look a lot better than mine did. Maybe I need to work on my presentation!
Sara’s right, bad wine can totally ruin this recipe. In fact, the deliciousness of this recipe really hangs on the wine/cooking wine/juice factor. Not to scare you or anything! :)
When I lived in Utah, I didn’t really want to go to the state liquor store, especially with my children in tow, so I just used juice or cooking wine. But now I can pick it up at the grocery store and hope I don’t run into anyone I know. Honestly, I’ve had better luck with the cheapest wine at Walmart (like less than $3/bottle) than I ever did with cooking wine because cooking wine can be so hit and miss.
This was fabulous. Easy and yummy.
I just put this in the crock pot and it smells really good. I was wondering if the chicken should have been cooked through or just browned? I bought the cooking wine, so I hope it turns out good.
this looks so yummy — i cant wait to give this a try
So i have made this before and loved it and wanted to make it again so I went to the recipe index and it isn't listed under poultry, it was kinda hard to find the recipe again. Just letting you know.
I am having difficulties getting the chicken to brown. All the flour sticks to the bottom of the pan and starts burning before the chicken looks golden. I patted the chicken dry… maybe it's my pan? Do you have any suggestions as to what kind of pan to use? Maybe not enough oil? Or should I turn the heat up? It's still cooked, just not golden and I lose all the nice flavor when it's stuck on the bottom of the pan!
Emily, one trick when browning meat is to heat your pan first. After it's hot, then add the oil. Once the oil is hot you add your meat. Also, don't turn the meat right away. It has to form a crust first and brown properly. If you try to stir it all around too soon, the crust sticks to the bottom of the pan. That sounds like the issue you're having, so try heating the pan first, then the oil, and letting the meat brown before turning it. Those tips are just for cooking meat in general, so maybe Kate has some comments about this recipe specifically.
Question–is the blender necessary? I hate cleaning that thing, so if I can get away with not using it, that would be great. BUT, if it makes a big difference in the meal as a whole, I'd be willing to put aside my personal preferences. :)
Hi, Lindsey! Yeah…I kind of think the blending is necessary, mostly because the body of the sauce is mostly made of the pureed onions and garlic, so the sauce would be kind of chunky and separated if you didn't blend it. Sorry I don't have better news!
Quick way to clean up a blender:
Refill the blender about 1/4 to 1/2 full of water, and blend on high until clean. Take blender jar back to the sink. Give it two or three vigorous shakes, then pour out. No difficult scrubbing, just disassemble and wipe down with a soapy sponge to get the last of the oil out.
Cleaning it out before it dries is probably the most important part. If you can't get to it quickly, you can fill the jar full to the brim in the sink, let it sit for two minutes. Pour the loosened chunks out, then follow the instructions above.
Remember: ALWAYS hold the blender lid down, lest the contents spread themselves all over your counters and floors!
How many will this feed? I've got some hungry 8 yr old boys.
Melinda–It serves about 6-8.
Hope that helps!
oh my you could so drink this sauce!!!! it is that yummy! I used red whine instead of white. really I have not made a single thing from this blog that was not delightful!
I'm a college student, and I love to cook, but I normally don't have enough time/money! your directions were clear enough for me to follow quickly and it was pretty cheap too! :)
I made a couple of modifications though
I'm allergic to gluten, so I used an all purpose gluten free flour
I didn't have a bay leaf so i substituted with an extra 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
& I was nervous because the only wine I had was the oak leaf (wal mart brand) white zinfandel
but it still turned out REALLY well!
my boyfriend practically proposed to me when he ate it :)
Thanks! I love that you had pictures with every step! it makes it so easy to follow the directions! :)
We're having this tonight. It smells SO good, and I have had a sample (or 20) from the crockpot. Yummy yummy yummy! And I figured out the WW points on it for you on E-tools. If you figure there are 8 servings, it's 4 points(without the pasta).
can't wait to make this! Adding this to my weekly menu. YUM
I'm in my third trimester and trying to cook extra meals for the freezer for after the baby comes. I made a double batch of this, froze half and put the rest on for tonight's dinner. After 2 hours my whole house smelled amazing and I had to sneak a taste. WOW. I hope that second batch I have stored in the freezer will last! You two never disappoint with your fantastic recipes, and this one just might be my favorite. I might even brave (another) trip to the state liquor store to get more wine so we can have it again soon;)
Success! I had my husband's family over for dinner and tried this for the first time last night (risky, I know.) It was EXCELLENT! I don't love wine, so I was unsure of what to buy, but I discovered my grocery store sells these little four-packs of wine that each measure about 1 1/2 cups. Perfect for cooking so you don't waste the rest of the bottle! Anyway, thanks for ALWAYS being my go-to when I need a recipe I can count on! :)
Congrats on the new look! I’ve been an avid follower for more than a year now and have loved every recipe I’ve tried from here so keep em coming:)
I notice you said that juice can be substituted for wine in this recipe. Could you recommend a certain flavor like apple, mango or pineapple (sweetened or unsweetened)? Thanks a lot:)
You’ll see in the recipe the best substitute is apple or white grape juice mixed with 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
My little black dress meal is my mom’s thai green curry. Tastes better than restaurant curry. Can share the recipe if you guys care.
You can share it with me!!
and me too!
…and me three! I’m always on the look-out for good Thai recipes.
I’d love the Thai recipe too.
Do you really cook it on HIGH for 3.5-4 hours? When I got home after just 3 hours, my crockpot was scorched around the edges. I saved the sauce and chicken, but I thought I must have read the recipe wrong. Now that I know I didn’t, any ideas why it burned or what I can do to prevent that from happening in the future? It was still delicious, btw!
Kellie–I’ve had two crockpots and always cooked it on high in both of them. Yours may tend to cook on the high side, so you might just want to cook it on low if you’ve run into problems in the past.
I’m looking for a good buffet dish to serve a large crowd. Could I make this recipe ahead, combine the cooked chicken mixture with an easier-to-eat-standing-up al dente cooked pasta (like penne), refrigerate the whole thing overnight and then warm it the next day in the oven prior to serving? I’m thinking that with a chance to “marry,” the flavors may be even better the next day… Also, I’d likely double the recipe to serve 12 – 16.
I would probably make the sauce ahead of time and then add the pasta before serving. You could definitely do the penne–that would be awesome–but you know how sometimes pasta salads get flavorless or leftover pasta gets gummy? I’m afraid that might happen in this situation if you added the pasta the day before.
Last time I made this, I cooked it all in my dutch oven. I put the lid on and left for about 2 hours. When I came back to it, it had burned all on the bottom. Is it because I need to have it in a crock pot? I want to make it again tomorrow, but I want to make sure it doesn’t burn like last time. Help?
EJ–It can be hard to replicate the conditions of the crockpot in a dutch oven, which is probably the problem you ran into (the crockpot emits low heat from all sides). So yeah, you can either cook it for a long time in the crock pot or you can just cook it on the stovetop for about an hour, just be sure to stir it frequently so it doesn’t scorch.
On your blog it says to add 1 TBS of white wine vinegar to the apple juice, but on the printable recipe it just says to use 1 cup cooking wine, apple juice, or white grape juice. I added 1 TBS of vinegar to my apple juice, but I was just wondering which one was correct? Thanks!
im going to cook this recipe for my class on May 16, 2011. i think it will get them thinking about italy a little more.
I absolutely DETEST green peppers. Any nuance of green pepper flavor ruins a dish for me. Would it ruin the apparent amazingness of the dish if I used a red pepper instead?
Yep, you could definitely use red pepper. It will be a different flavor (the green pepper adds a little bit of a sharp contrast whereas the red pepper will add to the sweetness), but it will still be delicious. Or you could just leave it out altogether. Shhh. :)
for those that have issues with the crock pot being too hot, every crock pot is different and typically the first time you make a certain meal you should be around to watch it — then you can know the proper temp/time for the next time you make it. ALSO, an important thing to remember is that the crock pot you use should be AT LEAST half way filled with whatever you’re cooking, otherwise it will usually cook too high because there isn’t enough food for the size and heat dispersion of the crock pot. I have a 4 quart crock pot, and this recipe just barely reached half way up I think, so if yours is larger that might be the reason
We had this for dinner tonight and it was really, really good! The white cooking wine I used was a Holland House brand… granted, I didn’t have quite a full cup left but the sauce turned out great tasting! I didn’t want to run to the store for a green pepper but it was plenty flavorful without. I served it over some pasta with a sprinkling of some leftover grated asiago cheese. It was delicious… thanks for another great recipe, girls!
Here’s what NOT to do with this recipe: DO NOT use 1 *cup* vinegar in your wine substitute! ew, right? Read the directions, as I did not. I also did not have marjoram so I skipped it. This combination of foul plays made a meal that tasted VERY much like mustard and I am embarrassed to say that we had company over, DOH!
This is me kicking myself . . .
Oh, my gosh, MaryAnn, that is epic–like a story you’ll tell people for the rest of your life, hahaha! I’m so glad we could be a part of it. :)
I made this last night for dinner and oh my goodness….I had to put it away before we ate the entire dish in one setting! (3 people should NOT eat a dish that serves 6 people in just ONE setting, right??) I have a cacciatore recipe for the crock pot, but this one is totally different with the blended sauce, etc. LOVE it! The only changes I made were to sub a red pepper for the green and, since my daughter is allergic to it and we don’t have any in the house, replaced marjoram with an Italian herb blend (marjoram-free). I did put this in my large slow cooker and it only took about 3 hours on high (just switched it to “Hold” until dinner). Thanks for yet another great recipe – Everything I’ve made from your site has been a “keeper”! :)
This looked and smelled great, but was a miss for our family (and we did use the wine). Maybe it isn’t the recipe, but that we are not Chicken Cacciatori fans. I give it a 5/10. I LOVE this site though—I regularly look for my dinner ideas here. Thank you!
Making this for dinner. I ran out of time to make it in the crockpot, so I cooked it in my dutch oven at 275 for 2 hours. Came out wonderful!! I’m just waiting for the pasta to finish and have already sneaked a few tastes, you know, just to be sure it’s good and all. ;o) Thanks for another great recipe!
If not using a slow-cooker when using the freezer instructions, how long would you recommend it be cooked in the oven? And at what temp? Thanks!
I truly don’t know–I’m so sorry!
Just reading the list of ingredients reminds me of my childhood. I cannot wait to give it a try and see if the final product lives up to my memories of my aunt Kathy’s chicken cacciatore
Do you think I could cook this on low for 9-10 hours? I’m looking for recipes that I can start in the morning before work around 8 am and turn off/serve between 5-7 pm.
Making this a second time. It was awesome! My crockpot cooks fast so things were a little done the first time. This time I added a little more liquid. I use a four pack size bottle of chardonnay for the wine which is about 3/4 cup and add a little more broth to offset. Box wine from Target or similar also works as a cooking wine since you can use a small amount and the rest stays fresh for another time.