I’ve been reading Claudia Roden’s incredible cookbook, The Food of Spain. It’s 624 PAGES LONG!!! and I read it every night before bed like a storybook; it’s that amazing. The book has history, anecdotes, incredible photographs of food and scenery and of course, recipes. When I came across a delicious and easy looking chicken recipe called Chilindrón (Chicken with Peppers and Tomatoes), I knew I had to make it.

And now that’s so chilly out, I’ve been itching to use my slow cooker. I thought this recipe would be ideal to adapt to the slow cooker and lo and behold, I was right. This is the perfect thing to pop in on a Sunday afternoon before you run errands or run a 5k or go to brunch or do whatever you’d like to be doing on a Sunday afternoon instead of making an involved dinner. This simple dish doesn’t take very long to cook and tastes delicious; you’ll love the fact that you put in almost no effort but are sitting down to a good healthy meal. The recipe calls for cooking the peppers and the chicken separately, but that didn’t work for what I had in mind, so you’ll be piling everything into your Crockpot for maximum ease.

The bacon here is totally optional. I used it mainly as flavoring, but if you’re more into bacon than I am (and it seems like a lot of people are REALLY into bacon and I’m really not, so it shouldn’t be too hard to like it more than I do), feel free to use more than the amount specified. I also used a combination of chicken breasts and thighs here, because why not? Well, and also because thighs are cheaper. I saved a little money here. You can, too!

Slow Cooker Spanish-Style Chicken

serves 3-6

total time: 4-6 hours (IN THE SLOW COOKER MIND YOU)

total hands on time: 10-15 minutes

What you’ll need:

couple tbsps of olive oil

1/2 an onion chopped

2 bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced lengthwise (I used one red and one green)

1 can diced tomatoes

4 chicken pieces (I used 1 large breast and 3 thighs)

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

fresh chopped garlic to taste, but be generous (almost a tbsp)

a little less than 1/2 a cup of vegetable or chicken broth

a little less than 1/2 a cup of dry white wine

2 pieces of bacon, already cooked and then cut in half

What you’ll do:

1. Chop your onions and slice your peppers. Turn the slow cooker on, add a bit of olive oil, and then put the chopped onions in the slow cooker with the garlic.

2. Next, add the sliced peppers and the entire can of tomatoes. Sprinkle your teaspoon of sugar on top.

3. Add the chicken and generously season with salt and pepper.

4. Pour the broth and wine on top of the chicken and vegetables. If you’re using bacon, place it strategically around the slow cooker so the flavor becomes evenly distributed.

5. Cook on high for four hours or low for six. If you’re around during the cooking, check it every once in awhile and nestle the chicken down deeper in the veggie mixture, which will turn all soft and broth-y.

This is what it will look like after three hours if you cook it on high, like I did:

I served my version of chilindrón with rice, but I think it’d be good on quinoa, pasta, or even a bed of greens. Make sure you get a little bit of the liquid left in the cooker and pour it on top once you’ve put the chicken and veggies on the plate, just to maximize the flavor. The whole breast was too big for me (aka I didn’t eat the whole thing) but the thigh was actually the perfect portion of chicken.