This recipe, from About.com Southern Food, was rated 5 stars. Since I don't use my crockpot nearly enough, I thought I would give it a try. Having dinner taken care of early in the day is definitely a plus for the crockpot. And Guy loved it. But I thought it came up short of my current fave. Don't get me wrong, this was enjoyable. But it kind of reminded me of a 1960's casserole dish. Not that there's anything wrong with that either, but I just can't give it a top rating, even with the changes I made to "beef" it up a bit. Would I make it again? You bet, especially if I needed to throw things in a crockpot so I didn't have to worry about dinner later. That's what the crockpot is for, after all.
Crockpot Chicken and Mushrooms
Adapted from About.com Southern Food
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided use
3-4 chicken breasts, skin off, bone in
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 cup drinking quality dry white wine
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup fat-free half and half
hot cooked noodles
2 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread
1/2 pkg. frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil; brown chicken on all sides; transfer to crockpot. Add 1 Tbsp. SB to skillet; add onion; saute till transparent. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds; transfer to crockpot. Add 1 Tbsp. SB to skillet, add mushrooms; saute till starting to brown. Stir in soup, peppers, salt, thyme sprigs and wine, and let the mixture bubble up. Spoon over chicken in crockpot. Cover, cook on high for 5 hours. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let it cool a bit. Stir flour into H&H; stir into sauce to thicken. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
Tear or cut chicken into pieces; discard bones. Put chicken back into crockpot; reduce heat to low.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Two minutes before pasta is done, add peas. Drain; return to pot with SB and parsley. Keep warm. Yield: 4 servings
