Slow Food

While I certainly admire the concept of the Slow Food movement, the closest I get these days is my slow cooker. And I love my slow cooker! My neighbor down the street loves her pressure cooker, which is the exact opposite kitchen appliance, and we get into friendly arguments over which is better. It's all about how you like to do things: she thinks about dinner 30 minutes before it should be on the table and there is no way my kids want me in the kitchen at that time. But, they don't mind if I cook dinner, or really assemble it with DP (who does all the meat--I can't do meat, especially at 6 a.m.), during breakfast. And this way I have help!

I have numerous slow cooker cookbooks but it all boils down, for the most part, to meat, vegetables, and sauce. Unless we're doing applesauce or queso or dessert. Or the beans DD dreads. No one else I know uses one--my mom didn't have one, my playgroup mommies do own them (does everyone get one as a wedding present? we got ours as a reward from the company DP worked for in Chicago. Well, there were points and a catalog and that was the thing we liked best) and express interest in using them but don't seem to--but somebody must because the recipes are everywhere. Cooking Light published an independent volume with recipes, the Prevention Guide regularly puts out a slow cooker edition, even Rachael Ray had them on her cover this month. Maybe it's all because of the Fix It and Forget It phenomenon, which popularized slow cooking. Again.

Anyway, the following recipe, which was a real hit with the kiddos (they adore apricot preserves), is in no way about Slow Food, what with all the dry onion soup mix and bottled salad dressing, except it took 8 hours to cook. It's from my favorite slow cooker book of the moment, Jyl Steinback's The Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Cookbook. And it might sound gross and overly sweet but it really does come out very well.

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Apricot-Glazed Chicken

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon onion powder
1cup nonfat Catalina salad dressing
1-1.1 oz packet dry onion soup mix
1-10 oz jar apricot preserves

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker; sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder. Combine salad dressing, onion soup mix, and preserves in a small bowl and mix well. Pour salad dressing mixture over chicken. Cover and cook over low heat for 6-8 hours.

Jyl Steinback, The Busy Mom’s Slow Cooker Cookbook