I'm a big girl, look what I can do!

Santa brought me a shiny new crocking cookbook to play with. It's THIS. I'm not sure how the  crocker got away with putting the word "simple" in the title. Some of the recipes in this sucker have impossible to find ingredients and/or lots of prep work. I'm a big fan of the fix it and forget it style (like you haven't noticed), but sometimes it's fun to put on my big girl "chef" hat and crock out of my comfort zone.

"Apricot Chicken" (6 quart pot)

~1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
~2 cardamom seeds (Technically, it says "seeds from 2 cardamom pods". I have no idea if I used the right stuff.)
~3 T vegetable oil
~2 yellow onions, finely chopped
~1 garlic clove, chopped (From the CSA.)
~2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
~1 (14 1/2 oz) can crushed tomatoes
~1 c chicken stock
~2 t salt
~2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (The recipe says "1 chicken, cut into serving pieces and skinned." I took an easier way out of that.
~2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Ditto.)
~2 c dried apricots
~1 pinch saffron, soaked in 2 T water (I found some cheap saffron at Trader Joe's a few months ago.)
~brown rice, cooked

Combine cinnamon and cardamom and grind to a fine powder (I used a coffee grinder.)
In a large sauté pan over medium high heat sauté oil and onions until browned.
Add ginger and garlic and stir for 5 minutes.
Add spice mixture, tomatoes, stock, and salt and stir for 5 minutes.
Place chicken in crock pot.
Pour onion mixture on top.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
30 minutes before serving, add apricots and saffron water.
Serve immediately.

Serve with rice.

4 servings.

This smelled fabulous and was absolutely delicious. I dug it. My other half dug it. My little helper dug it.  Go make it. Now. I'm eating the leftovers as I type this out and it's just as good the day after, Nomnomnom.