Spiced Peanut Chicken

We love this recipe and it is so fun to use things we have in the kitchen in a new combination. I have been told by a friend that this is inspired by North African cooking but I am not sure. All I know it is fantastic.

Also I am always on the lookout for wonderful dishes that can be cooked in my slow cooker. There is nothing like walking into the kitchen at the end of the day to find dinner practically ready. This one does need a bit of finishing at the end and you will need to cook the rice or couscous.

I have served this over rice and couscous and both are really good. We had brown rice the time I made this to take the photo, but if you want to serve it over white rice or couscous go for it. It is wonderful over any of these.

All the ingredients really are things I always have on hand. I mean who doesn't keep some canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, honey , cumin, cinnamon and peanut butter on hand. I also usually have some chicken thighs in my freezer since they are one of the things I stock up on whenever they come on sale.

I almost always leave the skin on the thighs, you can remove it before browning if you wish. I love the extra richness it gives the dish but if you want to cut the calories down leave it off. Just be sure to leave the bone in the thighs, it imparts so much flavor when the meat is cooked on the bone that it would be a shame to loose that.

The only caution I can give is to make sure that your slow cooker is big enough. You will need at least a 4 qt to get everything in. I usually cook this in my 6 qt just to be safe.

Spiced Peanut Chicken

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

8 chicken thighs (about 3 lbs)

1 large onion chopped

2 (14 ½ oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons honey

1 ½ teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup creamy peanut butter

In a large skillet heat oil and add chicken, cook turning over once until well browned on both sides. You aren't cooking them through just getting the outside nice and brown and crispy. (it is better to do this in 2 batches than to over crowd your pan)

Meanwhile in your slow cooker combine the onion, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, honey, cumin and cinnamon. Mix well. Add the chicken and spoon the sauce over to coat.

Cover and cook over low heat for at least 8 hours.

Just before serving remove chicken, cover and keep warm. Add peanut butter to sauce in slow cooker. Stir to combine and cover to heat through.

Serve chicken and sauce over either rice or couscous.