Chicken Cacciatore

A request from one of our followers, for a simple crock-pot meal with chicken, got me to thinking.  Chicken Cacciatore is one of the easiest and most loved dishes out there, and can be prepared in a multitude of ways.  Preparing it my way (giggles) is a combination of a couple of ways I like to cook:

Ingredients:
one whole chicken~cut into individual sections (2 legs, 2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 thighs/backs)
Tip: If you remove the skin, you will cut the fat content of this dish down considerably.
3 cups of white rice
5 cups of water
4 medium tomatos~boiled, skinned and crushed
2 medium jalepenos~seeded and finely chopped
1 medium bell pepper~sliced into 1/2" crescents
1 medium white onion~sliced into 1/2" crescents
3 cloves garlic~crushed and minced
1 tsp fresh Thyme~chopped
1 tsp fresh Oregano~chopped
1 tsp fresh Rosemary~chopped
1 tsp fresh Basil~chopped
(all of these herbs can be purchased in the produce market at your local market.)
1 tsp salt
1 Tblsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Blend
2-8oz cans tomato sauce
1 cube chicken bouillion
Tip: Chopping, crushing or mincing spices and herbs releases more of their oils than
simply tossing them in whole.

Method:
Lightly dust the chicken with the 1 Tblsp of Mrs. Dash. Grill the chicken over a medium fire about 6 minutes per side. You are not looking for the chicken to be fully cooked at this point, only to have that smoke flavor from the charcoal.

While the chicken is grilling you can get your other ingredients prepared.  In a 5 qt crock-pot, place the crushed tomatos in the bottem, then sprinkle the garlic and jalepenos over the tomatos.  Place the chicken on top of the veggies. Place the onions on top of the chicken.  Add the tomato sauce. Add the fresh herbs~ Tyhme, Rosemary, Oregano and Basil.
Add 1 cup of water.

Tip: if you don't have the ability to grill, or you don't want to grill the chicken....saute the chicken in a low profile skillet with 1 Tblsp Extra Virgin olive oil, each side about 2 minutes, just enough to sear the chicken, then add 1 tsp of liquid smoke, to the one cup of water before adding it, to the crock pot.

Cover and turn the crock pot on low for about 6 hours.  The chicken will be smokey and tender and very flavorful.
Add the bell peppers and turn crock pot to high for about thirty minutes.  I like my peppers more crispy, and since they really don't affect the overall flavor of the dish, they don't need to be in the mix the entire time.

In a seperate 3 qt sauce pan, bring 4 cups of water and cube of chicken bouillion to a boil. Once bouillion is reduced and water is boiling, add rice, cover with tight fitting lid and reduce heat to medium to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove rice from heat and let stand for about 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

To Plate:
Place about 1/2 cup of rice slightly off center on your desired serving plate.  Place 1-2 pieces of chicken on the rice, opposite of center from the rice.  Spoon about 1/3 cup of sauce mixture onto rice and chicken.
makes 4-6 servings.