Recipes Are For Ideas: Chicken Cacciatore

One morning, in the preschool rush, I forgot to assemble the chicken cacciatore in the crockpot.  In the afternoon, I compared three recipes for chicken cacciatore and did my own thing. 

I looked at Simply in Season - and doubled the herbs, added peppers, and used fresh tomatoes.

I looked at Joy of Cooking - browned the legs and thighs, and put the whole business to simmer on the stovetop.

I looked at Fix It and Forget It - and added mushrooms.

From my friend Rebecca's experience, I knew I wanted to reduce the liquid a bit, so I took the lid off for 20 minutes at the end.  From my own experience, I added the garlic near the end to preserve its flavor.

We ate the chicken cacciatore with spaghetti and green salad with fennel, raisins, cucumbers and this French dressing.  It was great!  I deboned the leftover chicken and we ate it the next day as stew with bread and cheese on the side.