Chicken With Apples Dinner Recipe

Hey all you busy cooks ... hope you all had a nice dinner tonight! I've been thinking of blogging about the subject of crockpotting (is that really a word?). I never thought of a crock pot as a real cooking tool in my life till this year. Whenever I heard the word "crockpot" I thought of all those recipes that would come off a can of condensed soup or casseroles that reminded me of the 1970's and The Brady Bunch! Not very hip for the modern tastes of today but boy was I wrong! I thought it was good to keep meals warm when family members are coming and going at different hours but I have found that not to be it's only use these days.

No more heavy casseroles or unhealthy, salty meals that are just not good for ya! Here is just one recipe that I made tonight as my sister test drove it last week. It smells sooo good when you walk in the house and I have to say it totally passed the test with the kids as well! Oh yeah! Prep time is very small and the clean up is just about nothing as we only have to clean the crockpot!

Crockpot Chicken and Apples
Ingredients:
1 cup apple cider
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 T. curry powder
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
3 Granny Smith apples, cored and thickly sliced
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 T. cornstarch

In a small bowl, combine apple cider, vinegar, nutmeg and curry powder.
In a small microwave-safe bowl combine butter, onions and garlic. Microwave on high for 1-2 mins. until onion is softened. Place mixture in bottom of 3-4 quart (or larger) slow cooker.
Dip each chicken breast into the juice mixture to coat and place in crockpot over onions. Pour any remaining juice mixture over the chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours until chicken is almost cooked. Add apples and cook 40-50 minutes longer on low until apples are tender and chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Mix together broth and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir into the liquid in the crockpot. Cover and cook on high heat stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and bubbly, 10-15 minutes. Serve with some hot cooked brown rice and a green salad.

Seriously, if you don't have a good crockpot think about investing in one today! For busy families it is a fantastic tool to have! More recipes to come!

Have a great night!!
Krista

Being Brave

"You're braver than you believe,
and stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think."

~Christopher Robin to Pooh

How many times do we tell our kids not to be scared to try something? To go ahead and speak up if they know the answer in class? Or to try a new activity like theater if they think it would be a good thing? Or believe they can do anything they set their mind to? I think most of us do it all the time ... but do we ever tell ourselves the same thing? Some days are not easy ... but what is great is when it's happening, when you are present with it ... you really can grow from it. All things happen for a reason and for that we need to take that opportunity and grow. Just like we tell our kids.

Whatever challenges are thrown our way.

This picture was taken on a local trail in our town a few months after my surgery. I was told by one of my healing therapists to get outside and walk a path alone. No dog, no kids. Now this sounds like a treat right? But my inner fears of something happening ... you know the bear who pops out of the woods, the stranger who looks scary or even some other little creature you'd rather not run into? Ya know what? I did it anyway. And it was a sweet success for me who was still running into trees, people and anything else over there. I took the fear and turned it into a nice feeling of completion and strength!

One more favorite:
"The best way to deal with fear is to feel it, name it, and do what needs doing in spite of it."
~Dr. Joan Borysenko