Slow-Cooker Chicken and Sausage Ragu

My family loves this recipe and I make it once a week. It is delicious, easy, and rewarding. It also takes me back to my

Sausage and Chicken in the slow cooker - a family favorite.

Italian roots. This recipe reminds me of Neopolitan ragu or the Sunday meat sauce my grandmother would make with baciole, but this can be done in the slow cooker when I am at work. I love coming home and having my house smell like grandma’s.

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Sausage Ragu

Servings 6

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs with the skin removed

6 hot Italian sausages cut into 1 inch medallions if you choose

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil

1 tbs dried pepper flakes

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 small onion grated or sliced thin

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 medium carrot grated

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or 2 fresh with seeds and skin removed)

1 tbs anchovy paste

1/2 fresh ground pepper

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Remove skin from the chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion power.

2. Bind the chicken thighs with twine. This step is optional, but it will keep the thighs together making them easier to remove and serve. You can also cut up the sausage into 1 in medallions if you choose.

3. In a bowl, mix the spices, pepper, tomato paste, anchovy paste, diced tomatoes, carrot, and onion.

4. Cover the bottom of the cooking vessel in sauce.

5. Layer in the chicken. Mine just fit in my slow cooker, but it is huge.

6. Cover with sauce and place on the bay leaf.

7. Layer in the sausage.

8. Pour on the rest of the sauce.

9. Cook on low for 7 – 8 hours.

10. Remove the chicken and sausage to a platter and cover.

11. Remove the bay leaf and reduce the sauce to desired thickness.

12. Taste and adjust seasoning.

13. Cover the chicken and sausage in the sauce.

Slow-Cooker, Creamy Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are cheap, flavorful, and versatile. I love using them in slow cooker recipes because them come out moist and full of flavor.  In this dish I use crimini mushrooms, cream, and sherry to create a rich and creamy chicken dish.

I don’t add the salt until the end when I am reducing a sauce because the sauce can get overly salty very quickly. Also, it is important to saute the mushrooms before adding them to the slow cooker for that umami flavor.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs (I leave the skin on because I do not mind flabby skin, but if you do remove it)

1 cup chicken stock (homemade is best, but use reduced-salt if using purchased stock)

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 cup (1 package) mushrooms sliced (crimini aka baby bellas)

1 stick butter

1 small onion chopped

1/2 tbs chopped garlic

1/2 tbs herbes de Provence

1/4 – 1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Crimini Mushroom

1) In a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan, melt a stick of butter over medium-high heat.

2) When the butter is melted and begins to bubble, add the sliced mushrooms.

3) After about five minutes, check the bottom of the mushrooms to see if they are browned.  If they are browned, flip them over and brown the other side.

4) When they are browned on both sides, remove the mushrooms and deglaze the pan with the sherry. Remember to scrap up all the brown tasty bits.

5) In the slow cooker, first layer the onion and garlic on the bottom. Next, place the chicken on top of the onion and pour the sherry on top. Then, add the chicken stock and mushrooms. Finally, add the herbes de Provence by rubbing the mixture between your fingers.

6) Cook for 6-7 hours on low.

7) Remove the chicken from the pot and allow to rest covered with foil. Place three cups of the sauce mixture to a sauce pan on high. Reduce the mixture by half.

8) Lower the heat to medium and add the cream mixture.

9) Reduce until the sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Now add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!