Slow-Cooker Balsamic-Tomato Chicken Stew

Balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite things on the planet.  It's up there with Sriracha.  I'll put it in everything.

Which brings me to this.

Oh my.

Delicious.

Just delicious.

I have nothing more to say.

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T. tomato paste
1 t. anchovy paste OR fish sauce (fish sauce is made from anchovies)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depends on how many you're serving)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 t. marjoram/thyme
2 bay leaves
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cups of canned, whole tomatoes (San Marzanos are the best)
1 bunch Swiss Chard, roughly chopped
Salt & pepper to tasted

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add your onions and bell peppers and allow to cook until they are beginning to brown.  Add in garlic and stir together, cooking for 1 minute more.  Remove from heat.

Now place everything else except the Swiss chard and the salt and pepper into the slow-cooker.  Set on high for 6 hours.

If you want less liquid, uncover the slow-cooker about halfway through.

30 minutes before serving, add in the Swiss chard and season with salt & pepper.

Serve over rice, pasta, polenta, or, as we did, sunchoke puree!

I can't wait to eat the leftovers.  I think it'd be fantastic as a pasta sauce.

CHEAT DAY: Pasta with Salmon and Broccoli in a Lemon Cream Sauce

WARNING: This recipe is in no way low-carb. It was tonight's Cheat Day dinner.

Ingredients:

1 small salmon filet, chopped into bite-sized pieces
About 1 cup of broccoli florets (optional)
2 T. butter
1 T. flour
1/3-1/2 cup of cream
Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 T. capers, drained
Salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain/rinse and set aside.

Melt 1 T. butter in a pan over medium heat.


Add broccoli and saute until almost cooked through (I like mine crunchy). Remove from pan (I didn't do that, but my broccoli ended up overcooked, so I advise doing this).


Melt 1 T. butter in the same pan over medium heat. Add 1 T. flour and stir together to form a roux. Allow the roux to become foamy. Add the cream in a steady stream, stirring until incorporated. Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken. Add more cream if desired.


Add the lemon juice, zest, and capers. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add salmon. Cook on all sides in the simmering sauce until nearly cooked through. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.


Toss the pasta and broccoli in the pan with the sauce, and serve garnished with parmesan cheese!


Delicious! But I only ate about half to save room for dessert. I also think that if you wanted this to be low-carb, you could serve the salmon with the sauce, just reduce the quantity.