Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken

The slow cooker gets a bad rap sometimes.  But not every meal that comes out of it has to be mediocre or full of cream-of-whatever soups.  I am currently in search of good crock pot recipes, and while I have had a couple mishaps, some of the meals I’ve made have been worth repeating.  This is one of those meals.

The only thing I would do differently with this recipe is to use bone-in chicken instead of boneless chicken breasts.  I knew that might be an issue, but I wanted to use what I had, and what I had was boneless chicken breasts.  Our chicken was a tad dry after cooking all day, in my opinion anyway.  Ben thought it was good, but Ben thinks most of what I make is good…I think he was just being nice : )

As far as flavor goes, this was a good slow cooker meal.  The apricots and raisins get nice and plump after soaking up the cooking liquid and add a nice sweetness to the dish.  The carrots stay surprisingly sturdy, not at all mushy, as long as you’re generous with your cut.  I sliced them on a bias somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.  A slight change I made was the addition of 2 extra carrots because I like more vegetables.  The original recipe calls for 2 onions, but since mine was rather large I only used one, and am glad that I did.

The slow cooker bible says DO NOT take the cover off the slow cooker while cooking!  I disobeyed this rule.  After about 4 hours of cooking  I stirred everything up so that the chicken would be covered in more liquid.  I don’t know how much of a difference that made.

Served atop the couscous, and sprinkled with the fresh cilantro and pine nuts, this meal is quite tasty.  The freshly made components make this seem less like your typical slow cooker meal.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken

Serves 4-6

From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

  • 4-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
  • 3 lb. meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks), skinned
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 14-oz. can chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Hot cooked couscous
  • Pine nuts, toasted
  • Fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
Directions
  1. In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker place carrots and onions.
  2. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add to cooker; top chicken with raisins and apricots.
  3. In a bowl whisk broth, tomato paste, flour, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper and add to cooker.
  4. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6-1/2 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
  5. Serve in bowls with couscous. Sprinkle with nuts. Garnish with cilantro.