Crock Pot Chicken Paprikash
As the weather cools our tastebuds year for soups and stews and all the warm goodness that they bring. This version of chicken paprikash is super easy, smells wonderful as it cooks and can take advantage of the often very cheap boneless skinless chicken thighs. The darker meat brings an incredible flavor boost to this dish without adding too much heaviness or nutritional tradeoffs as long as you trim it and skim it. The meltingly tender chicken swimming in pink-tinged gravy enriched by sour cream and served on a bed of egg noodles is entirely worth the minimal effort that this meal takes to put together.
Many people shy away from using chicken thighs, fearing that they are bad for you because they are dark meat. Not so much, actually, especially since you won’t be eating the skin and surface fat and will be skimming off the excess from the crock. This recipe shines with the rich chicken taste that comes from using the thigh meat and is a great excuse to take advantage of a very reasonably priced cut of chicken. The white meat of the chicken breasts will also benefit from the paprika bath, so don’t forego this one if that’s what you happen to have in your freezer. The whole thing is pretty forgiving as long as you don’t boil the sauce once the sour cream/flour mixture is added. By adding the flour to the sour cream you help keep it from curdling in the hot sauce, but that will only work up to a point if you overheat it.
As with many things stew and crock pot oriented, this one makes for excellent leftovers after a night in the fridge. Tradition in my family dictates serving with egg noodles, but it’s also good with roasted or boiled potatoes, rice or spaetzle.
Crock Pot Chicken Paprikash
Serves about 6
Ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into chunks
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 green or red pepper, chopped
1 small onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
Directions:
Put all ingredients except flour and sour cream into crockpot. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir to blend. Cover pot and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours until chicken is tender. Remove chicken pieces from crock and skim off as much fat as you can. Turn heat to high. Stir flour into the sour cream and stir into crock, continuing to stir until the sauce thickens. Return chicken to the pot and heat through, but be careful not to allow sauce to boil as it may separate. Serve over egg noodles tossed with a little butter and a pinch or two of dill.
