Applesauce & Pumpkin Crock Pot Chicken

Hurricane Sandy has been causing quite the stir today. My office is closed again tomorrow, and the power outages are up over a million. The pouring rain has finally made it up to Boston, and the wind is howling like crazy between the apartment buildings on my street. I still haven't bought bottled water, batteries, or any other emergency supplies, so fingers crossed that it doesn't get too bad here!

While I worked from home (and checked weather.com every five minutes) today, I created a new crock pot recipe with some leftovers in my fridge. I think I officially have the first applesauce + pumpkin crock pot chicken recipe (paleo or otherwise) on the web.  This is one of those recipes that reminds me how flavorful the simplest ingredients can be. There is absolutely no sweetener of any kind in this recipe, and it is sweet as can be. The combination of the apples, pumpkin, cinnamon, and garlic give it such a great flavor. I am thinking of making some fall-inspired lettuce wrap tacos with the leftovers if I can make it to the store this week when the rain finally stops. Stay tuned!

Ingredients:
- 3-4 lbs. chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken breast + rib meat)
- 1 cup leftover applesauce (recipe can be found here)
- 1 cup leftover pumpkin (used canned organic pumpkin from Trader Joes)
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, & cinnamon
- 1 cup apple juice (from the applesauce)
- 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

Instructions:
1. Put the applesauce and pumpkin on the bottom of the crock pot and mix to blend the two
2. Rinse the chicken, and lay it on top of the applesauce/pumpkin mixture
3. Generously season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon
4. Flip the chicken with tongs and season the other side 
5. Mix the chopped garlic into the apple juice, and pour on top of the chicken (note - this apple juice is the thick/cinnamon-y liquid that was excess when I made the applesauce. You could always just use an extra cup of applesauce if you don't have the liquid reserved.)
6. Cook on low for 6 hours
7. Take the chicken out of the crock pot, shred the meat, and put it back in the crock pot with all of the juicy goodness
8. Enjoy a scoop of this with a dollop of applesauce - the perfect hurricane meal!

  

Easy Organic Applesauce

If you want a quick and easy side dish or dessert, I highly recommend making some applesauce with your freshly picked apples from the orchard or the farmer's market. It couldn't be easier, and the smell and taste are to die for. This applesauce is one of my many contributions to tomorrow's Halloween Paleo Potluck Meetup that I'm hosting. Between the eight pounds of applesauce, two sweet potato pies (still in progress), and 4 dozen pumpkin-style "Ali-Bars", I am wiped. 

I should also mention that I completed my hardest WOD to date this morning which consisted of:

- 1 mile run

- 20 Bar-facing burpees

- 20 Deadlifts

- 20 Burpee lateral jumps

- 20 Power cleans

- 20 Burpees

- 20 Empty barbell thrusters

- 400m sprint

Somehow between the crossfit and the cooking, I also managed to stop by the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival (great vendors, but insanely over-crowded/chaotic), go grocery shopping at Trader Joes and Whole Foods, get crafts supplies at Michaels, and attempt to find a Halloween costume at Target. I ended up with some fabric that I will attempt to use to create my own costume tomorrow. We will see if I still have the crafty costume skills I learned in my sorority days. 

Let's hope the potluck is a success tomorrow! Pictures to follow :)

Ingredients:

- 8 pounds organic apples

- 2 Tbsp. organic cinnamon

- 1 cup water

Instructions:

1. Wash apples, and chop them into slices or chunks keeping the skin on

2. Put apples in a large pot and add the water and cinnamon

3. Bring the pot to a boil

4. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 45 minutes (stirring every 15 minutes)

5. Ladle out any excess liquid (you can always add it back later) to avoid making your applesauce too watery

6. Using an immersion blender, partially blend the sauce so the skin blends but leaving some chunks/texture based on your preference

7. Enjoy the amazing smell of fall in your house!