I do this all the time.

I come up with some concoction off-the cuff and riff on it, trying to make it simpler, and either make a dish so inedible that I never want to try it again or end up eating it for so long that the monotony kills my interest in it and I have to take a rest from it.

I’m doing this now with the chicken Cacciatore recipe I posted the other day. As discussed in my previous post, I had made a good recipe with chicken thighs and pasta sauce twice and all of it got eaten. I decided to tempt fate (and my tolerance for eating the same thing over and over) by making up another batch – but my desire for fewer steps and my joy of futzing around with things made me think that this might be a good candidate for the crock pot / slow cooker.

If you are not in a rush, and don’t mind a stew-like consistency, a crock pot can be an easy way to get a potfull of yummy goodness without much fuss. Here’s what I used:

• 10 chicken thighs with bone and skin ($6.50 at Whole Foods)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 bag Trader Joe’s Frozen chopped artichoke hearts
• 1/2 dozen already peeled garlic cloves, whole
• 1 Jar of Whole Foods 365 Organic Mushroom Marinara Sauce ($2.25)
• cayenne pepper
• Salt
• Oregano
• fresh shredded romano cheese