Recipe: Autumn Herbed Chicken with Squash and Fennel

This is such a great fall dish. It requires some prep and pre cooking in the beginning, but then it goes into the crock pot for the remaining of the cooking process. It is incredibly delicious and perfect for this time of year. We even enjoyed it as leftovers, and that is a rare occassion in this house. Mommy tested, and kid and husband approved, too!

Ingredients:3-4 lbs of boneless chicken thighs1/2 cup of all-purpose flour3 tsp of kosher salt1tsp of pepper2 tbsp of olive oil1 fennel bulb cut in thin slices1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4 inch cubes1 tsp thyme1/2 chicken broth1/2 cup apple juice or cider (I used juice.)1 tsp salt1/4 tsp pepper1/2 tsp rosemary

Directions:In a freezer bag, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Put the chicken in the bag and shake to coat. 
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and brown the chicken. 
Remove and place in the crock pot. Make sure the chicken is on the bottom. 
Add the fennel, onion, and squash. Combine the chicken broth, apple juice, thyme, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Pour over the veggies and chicken. 
Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2.5-3 hours. (I cooked ours on low for 5-6 hours.)

You can also make this a freezer meal. To do so, place the chicken in a large freezer bag. In another large freezer bag, place the fennel, onion, squash, thym, broth, apple juice, salt, pepper, and rosemary. In a small freezer bag,  put the flour, salt, and pepper. On the cooking day, thaw the chicken and follow the directions above! That easy! 


The original recipe was found and adapted from here: Autumn Herbed Chicken with Squash and Fennel

Meal Plan Monday

Now that A is in school for half a day, I have time to ran more errands during the week. This means I can now grocery shop once a week like I was doing before. I go once a week to the commissary for the basics and the American things, then I go once a week for the things off base that I prefer. 

I thought since I am grocery shopping once a week again and couponing that I would start back the weekly meal plans and include a recipe at the end of each week if anyone is interested. 

My plan for meals is that there is always 1 quick meal and 3 crockpot/slow cooker meals. With Mr. Man's new job, he gets home by 5pm and not it gets dark early. By planning crockpot/slow cooker meals, this allows us some family times in the afternoons once Mr. Man gets home from work and A wakes from her afternoon nap. 

Here are our meals for the week of October 28 - November 3, 2013: 

1. Crockpot Pesto Ranch Chicken

2. Crockpot Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup

3. Crockpot Pineapple Glazed Chicken

4. Meatballs and Gravy over Rice

5. Red Beans and Sausage over Rice

6. Baked Chicken Thighs

7. Baked Trout

Of course, these are in particular order. They are never set to any particular day. Each morning I look at my list and decide what will be for dinner that night. Then I also decide for the next night that is the crockpot meal so the meat can be defrosting and I can prep for that as well. Makes life so much easier! 

As always, if there is a recipe you would like me to share, just comment with the name of the recipe and at the end of the week I will share the one with the most requests! :) 

Hope you enjoy!

Do you meal plan? What's your family's favorite meal?