I wanted something Italian, and I wanted to buy some chicken – and do it in the crock pot. Chicken Caccitore seemed to fit the bill.
As usual, I found a recipe, then threw it away and came up with my own version:
- 4 chicken leg quarters
- 2 yellow onions
- 2 small yellow squash
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- tub of fresh mushrooms
- oregano
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- small can tomato paste
- 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
- can of pizza sauce (usually much lower in carbs than jarred sauces, for some reason – mine was 4 grams of carbs)
Chopped the veggies large and threw them in the pot with the chicken broth and oregano. Then I laid this chicken on this, and smeared the tomato paste on the legs, then sprinkled on the crushed garlic. An hour later I put the pizza sauce on top.
Cook on high for about 4-1/2 hours.
It came out good, though way too ‘soupy’. I ladeled out a quart of liquid into a container and set it aside – there – that’s better.
I had some of the broth as brunch and it made a nice tomato soup – and a bowl of the stuff later, covered in melted mozzarella cheese and parm, was good as well.
But not great.
Why? I thought of a number of reasons:
- The recipe actually sucks – and I can’t bring myself to admit it.
- The meat falls off the bone in this recipe and you have to fish through the stuff to pick them all out – and you don’t get every last bone and piece of grizzle.
- I want pasta with Italian flavors, dammit!
- Just not in the mood for chicken.
- My wife brought in a baguette and it distracted me the entire day.
I think it was the last one. My wife brought a baguette back from the farmer’s market. Known as ‘french bread’, this stuff is high on the list of Best Bread Ever. Rip off a hunk, smear with some salted butter, and you have a meal.
My wife and older daughter went out for the afternoon and I stayed with my 2-year-old. She’s a great Kid, and I like cartoons, so we make a great pair.
But the entire time, the baguette sat right next to my ‘Italian Stew’. Looking all tasty.
Ugh, I was tempted…but then I had a bowl of the Italian stew. I also had an open-faced cream cheese and 0 cal jelly on a slice of the low carb bread, as well as a cheese, lettuce, mayo open-faced sandwich as well. I also had some cream, and a few glasses of the 4C Splenda-containing-rug-staining electric red fruit punch.
The baguette was under constant threat, but it made it through the day untouched. The pity of it is that, if my family follows their past behavior: they won’t even eat the damn thing! It will sit until hard and useless, except as a club. A baguette has to be eaten as soon as possible – and not after the first day.
I held out little hope in the scale department, and I was right: I’m 207 – 1 lb. up from yesterday and 7 lbs. down from the start.
After a cheat, if I keep the carbs real low, I can cancel out the bad day totally, but the low carb bread and the tomatoes probably made the carb count higher than necessary.
I actually don’t feel that bad about it, because I feel better about adhering to my committment than my concern for the scale numbers: if I can keep to my low carb eating regimen, the weight will come off, eventually.
Low Carb Confidential 
that meals sounds great to me. I love chicken in a tomatoey sauce in the crock pot. I actually like it when it falls apart. Its so soft and tender….yum. Thats so unfortunate you can’t have tomatoes. I live off of the stuff.
I had a bad weekend too but its coming right. I totally agree that you can cancel out a bad day with a good one.
I can have tomatoes Dr. Dan – I had eaten a lot of tomatoes by the first 10 days.
Each low carber is different – tomatoes don’t seem to have too much impact one me.
As summer is over and the store tomatoes are crap, I won’t be having any until next season, except the ones that come out of a jar or can, so it will probably be less.