Eat Well, Be Well, Live Well

It’s been one of those weeks… Hectic. Disorganized. Too much on the plate, so to speak. It started with a quick trip to Washington DC with the family. (Note to self: Two days to see Washington DC is about five days too short.) We had a special opportunity there, but couldn’t extend our stay, so we saw as much as we could in 48 hours. We took a late flight back to San Francisco, during which the other three members of my family slumbered blissfully for 5 of the 5-hour and 20 minute flight. I suffered an airplane version of insomnia and didn’t sleep a wink. Needless to say, we arrived home at 2:30am! But back to the food.

The combination of sleep-deprivation and a greater than usual number of meetings this week meant I had no time, energy or imagination to cook up anything terribly fancy or creative. In fact, we ate really basic meals all week. However, I did whip up this dish in my slow-cooker one day, and it got me thinking that I’d like to share several super-easy slow-cooker meals with you. Most of us lead crazy busy lives and can benefit from a dishes you assemble in 5 minutes, that cook by themselves, and are ready to serve 4-5 hours later.

In my still tired, non-creative state, I couldn’t come up with a more exciting name than “easy slow-cooker chicken,” so please forgive me that. This dish is surprisingly flavorful given how little effort it takes to make it. You can serve it as is or over rice or pasta. I served it over my favorite Mexican rice (recipe coming soon) since I happened to have leftovers.

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 can organic tomatoes, stewed or diced

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut in quarters

1/2 an onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (or dried equivalent)

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (or dried equivalent)

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped plus extra for garnish

2 organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 6 thighs

Sea salt and fresh-ground pepper

Preparation

Drizzle a little olive oil on the bottom of the slow-cooker pan. Pour in the tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle the onion, garlic and herbs over the tomato mixture. Lay the chicken pieces on top. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Secure the lid and turn on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8.

Go enjoy the big chunk of time you just freed up!