Moroccan Chicken with Golden Raisins

It feels like college was forever ago. There's nothing like realizing you were a freshman ten years ago to make you wonder where on earth your twenties went.

I loved my University. I went to Clayton State University which is a teeny tiny school in Atlanta, Georgia. When I started, they only had 6,000 students. The campus was gorgeous. A little island of beauty in the middle of an iffy county. We had lakes, we had swans, we had awesome professors and over air-conditioned classrooms. We had a little newspaper called The Bent Tree. I loved my school.

I met a lot of great people in college, and I've lost touch with a lot of them. So I was pretty happy when six months or so, Dana started popping up on my radar. She and I weren't super close, but we knew each other.

After college, she went and got a Masters degree, and now she lives and works in Norfolk, Virginia. I don't think I've seen her in at least five or six years. But the neat thing is that she turned into a food blogger too! I started seeing her food pop up on Facebook and started reading her blog. She writes over at Whisks and Words. She is also working on her first novel and I seriously cannot wait to read it.

A couple of weeks ago, she posted a recipe for Moroccan Chicken in a slow cooker. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, so yesterday I made it. It's ridiculously delicious and pretty darn healthy. I ate a bowlful with some quinoa, and then I ended up going back to the slow cooker at least half a dozen times to grab another bite. Because it makes such a big batch, I'm going to get to take this to work a whole bunch this week, which makes me really happy because I'd gotten bored of sweet potatoes. This is one of those wonderful dishes that develops more flavor as it sits.

If you get a chance, take a peek at Dana's blog. She's pretty darn awesome.


Moroccan Chicken with Golden Raisins
Adapted from Dana and Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

One of the things I loved the most about this recipe is that the golden raisins get all plump in the slow cooker, and then when you get them on your spoon you can't necessarily tell if they are raisins or chickpeas. It's like a neat surprise every time!

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
2 Cans Chickpeas
1 15oz Can Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Small Red Onion or 4 Shallots
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Water
1 1/2 Teaspoons Cumin
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Paprika
Pinch of Cinnamon
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

Grab your crockpot or slow cooker. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them with the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, cumin, cayenne, paprika, cinnamon and raisins into the crockpot. Dice the bell pepper and onion and add them in. Stir everything up. Then, cut up the chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces. Try and trim away as much fat as you can. Lay the chicken pieces over the other ingredients and grind over some salt and pepper.

Turn the slow cooker on high and put the lid on. Let cook for twenty minutes so the ingredients all come up to temperature. Stir in the chicken. Cook for ten more minutes on high, then turn down to low and cook for four more hours. Turn off the heat and stir in the peanut butter to finish.

Serve over quinoa, rice or couscous, or eat straight from the slow cooker after going to the gym. Try really hard not to splash any of the liquid on your tummy while stirring it, because that will hurt like hell. Three guesses how I know.

Makes about six large servings.