Sarasota's Greek Chicken Stew

SarasotaCook's Note:

Great flavor and easy to put together. Wonderful mid week meal. I originally found this from an old slow cooker cookbook which I have since sold, but I still have my recipe card. I serve this over extra thick egg noodles with a crisp green salad. One thing I think is very important for this dish, is to sear the chicken before adding it to the crock pot. It doesn't take any time, but adds tons of flavor.

• Total Time: 6 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-8

Yield: 6.0

• 1 lb egg noodles (your choice, I happen to love the extra wide)
• olive oil (toss with the pasta)

Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (you can also use thighs or a mix of the two)
• 2/3 cup flour
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil (to sear the chicken)

Sauce

• 2 cups eggplants, cubed (I use the Japanese which I don't find necessary to peel and it is a bit sweeter)
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced (take advantage of the ones pre-sliced for convenience)
• 1 medium onion, rough chopped
• 2 (9 ounce) packages frozen baby artichoke hearts (you can also use 1-2 cans of artichokes hearts, drained as well, I prefer the frozen)
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons sherry wine (white wine will be a good substitute)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons flour
• 3 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon oregano, dried
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
• 3/4 teaspoon basil, dried
• salt
• pepper

Garnish

• fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Chicken -- Take the chicken out of the refrigerator to bring to room temperature. Season and rub the chicken well with salt and pepper. Then in a large baggie, add the flour and add the chicken (a couple of pieces at a time) and shake until lightly coated. Make sure to shake off as much possible. Set to the side.
2. Sear -- In a large (non-stick which is what I prefer) pan, add the olive oil and bring to medium high heat. Sear the chicken on each side until lightly golden brown. You are not cooking it all the way through, just a light sear. Just a couple of minutes on each side is all it takes. Remove and let cool.
3. Sauce -- As the chicken cooks, mix your sauce. In a large bowl, add the eggplant, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Mix the broth and sherry (or wine) with the flour and stir well. Add the liquid to the bowl along with all the seasoning, Add a pinch of salt and pepper - you can always add more seasoning later, so go light and mix all the ingredients together.
4. Crockpot -- Add the chicken to the bottom of the crockpot and top with the sauce. Don't mix once you add it to the crockpot. On top of the chicken and sauce - add the artichokes and capers. Don't mix the artichokes and capers inches.
5. Cook -- Cover and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. My crock pot takes 6 hours. We all know how different cooking times can be by using older vs. newer or round vs. oblong. Once the chicken is done, Mix everything together well and check for seasoning one last time. Pepper is usually the only seasoning I add. And now you can start your egg noodles.
6. Serve -- I serve this family style and make sure to use a deep dish as the sauce is great. Add the butter noodles and top with the chicken breasts and eggplant sauce,.and garnish with fresh parsley. I love to cut each chicken breast in 2-3 pieces just so everyone can take what they want, but that is optional. A nice green salad or a tomato cucumber salad on the side goes great with this dish. ENJOY!