Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [53]
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup Frank’s Red Hot Hot Cayenne
Pepper Sauce
10 chicken breast halves, skin and bones removed
add the butter, oil, and hot sauce to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and stir to combine. Add the chicken to the sauce and turn to coat, stacking the chicken in even layers.
cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, turning the chicken in the sauce a few times during the cooking time. Remove the chicken from the sauce and pull the meat apart using two forks. Return the chicken to the sauce and stir to coat.
serve from the cooker set on warm.
serves 8
Chicken Braised in Cider with Apples and Bacon
When my husband and I visited Normandy, we fell in love with the countryside and the people. Our biggest surprise was that there were no vineyards—just apple orchards producing cider in many varieties. This dish is similar to one we had for dinner in Normandy. Cooked in cider with apples and finished with a bit of cream, it is delicious served over buttered noodles.
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
5 large cooking apples, peeled and cored, cut into 8 wedges each
2 medium onions, cut into half rounds
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1½ cups apple cider
2 chicken bouillon cubes
8 strips thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 chicken breast halves, skin and bones removed
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples, onions, and thyme and sauté until the onions begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes.
add the mustard, sugar, and cider and stir to combine, melting the sugar. Transfer to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the bouillon cubes to the cooker, crushing them to dissolve. Set the cooker on warm while you sauté the chicken.
wipe out the skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, and remove it to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle the chicken with the pepper. Add the chicken to the bacon drippings in the skillet and brown on all sides.
transfer the chicken to the slow-cooker insert. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is cooked though and the apples are tender. Add the cream and parsley and stir to combine.
serve from the cooker set on warm.
serves 8
Curried Chicken Divan
Chicken Divan is a classic chicken-and-broccoli dish from the 1950s that is terrific in the slow cooker, with a few minor adjustments. Broccoli in the slow cooker tends to disintegrate and turn gray, so my advice is to serve the broccoli on the side. Cook the chicken in the slow cooker—it will be tender and juicy cooking under its curry- and-Cheddar-cheese sauce. For this slow-cooker meal you just need to prepare the sauce and then load in the chicken—no browning required.
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1½ teaspoons curry powder
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup evaporated milk
8 chicken breast halves, skin and bones removed
1½ cups finely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the curry powder and sauté for 30 seconds.
add the flour and cook for 3 minutes, whisking constantly. Add the broth and bring to the mixture to a boil. Add the milk and remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool.
place the chicken in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker, stacking evenly. Pour the cooled sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours.
sprinkle the cheese over the chicken, cover, and cook for an additional 1 hour, until the chicken is cooked through.
serve the chicken from the cooker set on warm.
serves 6
Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
Although we can’t put a flaky crust on this pot pie, there are several other options for crusts that work well in the slow cooker. Mashed potatoes (see savvy) and