Sunday, January 06, 2008

More healthy cooking
--Balsamic Braised Chicken with Olives



Balsamic Braised Chicken with Olives
The Best Diabetes Slow Cooker Recipes Copyright 2007

1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cracked black peppercorns
½ tsp dried thyme leaves
2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes, including juice, if canned
½ cup lower-salt chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 lbs skinless bone-in chicken thighs
2 tbsp chopped pitted black olives I used kalamata olives
2 tbsp drained capers

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, salt, peppercorns, and thyme and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, broth and balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil.
2. Arrange chicken over bottom of slow cooker stoneware and cover with vegetable mixture. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork. Add olives and capers and stir well. Serve immediately.
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I was drawn in by the lure of capers again. This wasn't something I raved over but I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if it's something I would make again since there are so many chicken recipes out there that haven't been tried yet. Don't get me wrong it was very good, and on the healthy side. It may have been great but my appetite has been on the low side.

Well I had my few days of rest and I started cleaning and cooking for my son's birthday party this coming weekend. Having a baby just a couple of weeks after Christmas is not recommended! I just want to relax after the holidays but then I have to get through this one more thing. I love throwing him a party which is the kicker - I wish I didn't have to do it so soon after Christmas when I'm stressed out. I would love to do it during a less stressful time of year. Of course I have to make it even worse by trying a new recipe but it won't be the only thing I serve if it doesn't work out. Thankfully it for adults, not children. I talked him out of that.

So I might be MIA one day this week since I think I'm a recipe short but I promise things will get back to normal around here eventually.

Blast From The Past: Marinated Beef Sandwiches from September 2006. I'm trying another sliced beef recipe for the party. I bought a meat slicer which I think is key so hopefully I'll get better results.

Question of the Day: How was your birthday celebrated when you were a child? I don't remember having any 'real' cakes when I was younger. It was always Carvel ice cream cakes which surprises me now considering how much more they cost than traditional cake and ice cream. I wish I could find out how they make those crunchies. That has to be the best kept secret in the world.

10 comments:

Randi said...

Too Funny, we got a carvel cake for our xmas meal while in Florida. We brought a double crunchie cake up to the register, but it was 17.99. We traded it for the regular snowman cake at 12.99( on sale). I actually had a bday party( I was probably about 6 or 7) at a carvel store in Florida.

Arties32 said...

What type of meat slicer did you get? I'm looking for one and would appreciate recommendation- thank you.

My birthday was not a happy time as a child- December 30th. Everyone is sick of celebrating Chanukah, Christmas and it's one day before New Year's Eve. I didn't get to take cupcakes to school because there never was school on my birthday. I would like to officially change my bday to June 30th and celebrate 6 mos. later :)

Anonymous said...

My godchildren's birthdays are January 3 (they're twins). Their parents, in their great wisdom, discussed the possibility of celebrating their "half" birthdays in July, and the twins thought that was a great idea! They liked the idea of getting more stuff in the middle of the summer, since they always got so much stuff at Christmas. They are 9 now, and we've been celebrating "half" birthdays since they were 6 1/2. Meg

Unknown said...

We usually had a family dinner that I picked out and then I always had a party with friends. Those cakes ranged from homemade, to bakery made, to ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

Wanda said...

I think my earliest recalled birthdays were celebrated in our backyard with chairs carried from the house, and spread out in a large somewhat 'circular' arrangement, back from a table holding the cake, and refreshments. There were neighbors and grandmothers and cousins and other relatives. I remember other years, having the party with roughly the same guests inside our house. My cakes, made by my mother and/or sisters, were ones from cake decorating pamphlets and those Baker's Coconut booklets. One favorite was a cake with a clown, drawn in icing in the middle, holding balloons (lifesavers candies) that served as candle holders. I requested that one more than once. Another favorite was a round layer cake decorated as a drum. I know there were more... Nut cups or favors were common, too. I recall some cute blue plastic filigree cut ones with a bow on the handle that turned upside down to hold mints. I had at least one joint birthday party with a cousin in a park in about 20 miles away, too. I think, besides the cake, punch and mints, there was ice cream and sandwiches. This was in the 50's. Jan probably remembers more about my birthdays than I do. ;)

Bunny_lover said...

We always got a decorated cake from the local bakery. I don;t remember much about my own celebrations since my bday is in Frb. My older brothers was the fourth of July and it was always a big deal. We would decorate our bikes and have a neighborhood parade and there were always flags everywhere.

Anonymous said...

I don't remember anything more than Wanda did. I REALLY don't remember mine (I'm a LOT older than she). I've seen pictures of myself with a birthday cake. Other than that, I think we had a few parties with playmates, but I don't remember anything about them.

Jan

The Cookbook Junkie said...

artie32,

I got a Chef's Choice but I haven't used it yet. I'll let you know next week. It got better reviews than the Waring but I didn't read the reviews until after I bought it. The Chef's Choice was the only one I could find locally (in Bass Pro).

I was going to do the half birthday thing but now that I'm having a baby around that time, I'm not sure how my son would feel about it.

Arties32 said...

Thanks for answering- yes, please let me know what you think of the slicer, I am in the market for one!

Aww, I guess you better just stick with the regular old birth date. I know I shouldn't still feel slighted that my birthday is at a bad time- but I do! :)

The Cookbook Junkie said...

arties32,

I don't know if you'll see this but I was very pleased with the meat slicer. I'm not sure how it will hold up in the long run but I sliced about 8 pounds of partially frozen rump roast with no problem. The more frozen pieces did seem to make the slicer work but it managed.

It was easy to clean too. It's the Chef Choice electric food slicer model 610 and I bought it for $100 in Bass Pro. For a low end slicer, I was very pleased.