Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore. Tricky to spell. Easy to make!

I'm totally crushing on my slow cooker at the moment. It's just too handy to use when I'm out all afternoon for basketball or footy, or like today feeling like crap and able to put stuff in the slowcooker, set and forget!

After a cold and windy training on Thursday it was great to come home to dinner already cooked!

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

8 chicken thighs, chopped into bite sized bits
1 medium onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 400g tin crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 sliced of halved black or kalamata olives
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp mixed herbs
salt & pepper to taste
fresh parsley to garnish


The "easy ain't nobody got time for that" method
1. Throw it all in the slow cooker, stir, set, forget. 4 hours on high. 6-8 hours on low. It may need thickening before serving.


The "I have a little bit more time to waste on cooking" method

Add this to the ingredient list
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp oil

1. Coat chicken in flour seasoned with extra salt, pepper & mixed herbs
2. Heat half the oil in saucepan and cook onion and garlic until soft. Add to slowcooker
3. Heat remaining oil and cook chicken in batches until brown. Add to slowcooker.
4. Use the red wine to deglaze the saucepan and add to slowcooker
5. Add stock, paste, tin tomatoes, olives and mixed herb to slow cooker.
6. Cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

You could serve this on its own or with whatever you wanted to really. Mash potato. Pasta. Rice. Polenta. Cous Cous. Quinoa. Whatever.

Ready to be cooked. Didn't get a photo before we gobbled it all up!

Do you crush on your slow cooker during the cooler months too???

You can also follow me on

facebook | www.facebook.com/TheAussieHausfrau

Twitter | @AussieHausfrau

Instagram | @aussie_hausfrau

If you've been following me on facebook you may or may not know that I have registered for a 220km bike ride  for the Perth Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2013. This is a cause close to my heart as I have lost some very special people to this horrible disease. As part of my entry I need to fund raise a minimum of $2500 to take part in the actual ride. I really hate asking for donations but I've been told that it's the only way! Do you have a spare $2? Every little bit helps. All money raised will go directly to support cancer patients and their families and all donations $2 and over are tax deductible. Thank you!!



How do you like your lamb shanks?

There are few favourite meals that I remember from when I was a young whipper schnapper.

Let's just say that my Mum didn't like to cook and her Mum wasn't a cook either. Not sure where I get my love of cooking. Dad likes to watch cooking shows and so do I so let's just go with me getting it from him.

Remember how, as a kid, there were certain meals that you just dreaded!??

For me it was two meals that my Step Father made. One was good old Rice-A-Riso with "can't chew it 'cause it's too tough diced pork". The other was lamb shanks cooked in a frying pan. You know, before lamb shanks were the cool thing to cook and they were still cheap as chips. Tough and chewy! Yuck!

I have never ever eaten Rice-A-Riso since I left home and until I bought a slow cooker a few years back I stayed clear of lamb shanks too.

But last week I came across a slow cooker recipe* for lamb shanks and thought I'd give it a crack. Now I'm here to share it with you.

Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
Mediterranean  Style

Ingredients

• 4-6 frenched lamb shanks (if you don't wish to sell your first born to buy frenched one just get un-frenched ones)
• 2 tbsp plain flour (use gluten free to make the recipe GF**) seasoned with salt, pepper and dried oregano and basil.
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 3 medium capsiums (I use 1 red, 1 green, 1 orange), chopped
• 1 large zucchini, chopped
• 1 small eggplant, chopped
• 3 sticks celery, sliced
• 1 large chilli (seeds in or out, your choice)
• 2 x 400g cans chopped, diced or crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to season
• Arrowroot powder (or similar) to thicken

Putting it together

1. Place lamb and flour in a bowl. Toss to coat. Heat half the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook lamb for 5 to 6 minutes, turning, until shanks are browned all over. Transfer to the bowl of your slow cooker. Add onion, garlic, capsicum, zucchini, eggplant and celery to pan. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until vegetables just start to brown.
2. Add vegeatable mix to lamb shanks. Combine tomato paste, stock and wine and pour over lamb and veg. Top with chopped tomatoes.Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8.
3. Remove lamb from sauce and set aside. If sauce is too watery thicken with arrowroot (2 tbsp dissolved in a little water) - stir in oregano and basil and season with salt and pepper. 
4. Serve lamb shanks over mashed potato (GF), pasta, cous cous or quinoa (GF) and ladel over vegetable sauce.

Serves 4-6

Here's some crappy iPhone photos for you

*The original recipe is from here. I've changed it and made it my own

**GF = Gluten Free

The lamb was soooo tender and fell off the bones! Mr Hausfrau loved it and the kids gave it their tick of approval. I ended up with lots of left over sauce so have frozen it and will use it for a meat free pasta or a base for another casserole.

You can also follow me on

facebook | www.facebook.com/TheAussieHausfrau

Twitter | @AussieHausfrau

Instagram | @aussie_hausfrau

If you've been following me on facebook you may or may not know that I have registered for a 220km bike ride  for the Perth Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2013. This is a cause close to my heart as I have lost some very special people to this horrible disease. As part of my entry I need to fund raise a minimum of $2500 to take part in the actual ride. I really hate asking for donations but I've been told that it's the only way! Do you have a spare $2? Every little bit helps. All money raised will go directly to support cancer patients and their families and all donations $2 and over are tax deductible. Thank you!!



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{Meal Plan Monday}

Well Meal Plan Mondays are back. Fortnightly, 'cause that's how I roll. For how long they'll be back I don't know, but on Friday I sat on my arse all day I had some spare time on my hands so put together this fortnights meals in advance. Oh I have been doing meal plans but nothing concrete and definitley not in advance like I once did. More like half weekly.

So with footy training in full swing and now basketball taking up my Monday evenings I need to be more prepared. Mondays need to be quick foods and preferrably meatless and Tuesdays and Thursdays are perfect slow cooker nights after footy training! This fortnight most of my recipes are from my trusty Taste iPhone app. Some are old favourites and some are new, yet to be tried recipes.

Oh and I still have that "no working oven" thing going on.

Week 1

Monday - {Meat Free Monday} Potato & Roasted Garlic Soup

Tuesday - {Slow Cooker} Mediterranean Style Lamb Shanks

Wednesday - Green Thai Chicken Curry

Thursday - {Slow Cooker} Chicken Cacciatore

Friday - {Family Fun Night} Clean Home Made Pizzas

Saturday - Rigatoni with Italian Sausage & Broccoli Last minute BBQ at Mum's house ;)

Sunday - {Slow Cooker} Beef & Red Wine Casserole with Cheesy Dumplings

Week 2

Monday - {Meat Free Monday} Gnocchi with Spicy Tomato & Feta Sauce

Tuesday - {Slow Cooker} Beef Curry with Rice and Pappadums

Wednesday - Kangaroo Fillet with Salad and Baked Potatoes

Thursday - {Slow Cooker} Whole Spiced Chicken with  Sweet Potato Chips & Salad

Friday - Fish coated in Dukkah with Avocado Salsa {unless we head out for Date Night!!}

Saturday - Thai Beef Salad with Nam Jim

Sunday - Spaghetti Bol


I'll post some of these recipes and link them back to here in the next few days so check back if you're interested in any of them. If there's one you'd like but I don't link it please let me know and I'll put it up.

Do you use a slow cooker during the cooler months?

You can also follow me on

facebook | www.facebook.com/TheAussieHausfrau

Twitter | @AussieHausfrau

Instagram | @aussie_hausfrau

If you've been following me on facebook you may or may not know that I have registered for a 220km bike ride  for the Perth Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2013. This is a cause close to my heart as I have lost some very special people to this horrible disease. As part of my entry I need to fund raise a minimum of $2500 to take part in the actual ride. I really hate asking for donations but I've been told that it's the only way! Do you have a spare $2? Every little bit helps. All money raised will go directly to support cancer patients and their families and all donations $2 and over are tax deductible. Thank you!!