recipe: crockpot tomato and mushroom chicken

Continuing on my quest for the best and easiest crockpot recipes around, I flagged this one in my Google Reader and decided to try it out last night. With a willing friend invited for dinner, I ran home on my lunch break to toss this in the crockpot and get it cooking. That was the only drawback to the recipe - it's not one for a morning start before a full day. Since my office isn't far from home, it wasn't a hardship to make this work and I'm so glad I did!

Crockpot Tomato and Mushroom Chicken
(Credit: 365 days of Slow Cooking)

5 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used 2 lbs. of chicken tenders - on sale!)
1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes with basil
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained (I used portabellas)
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 c. tomato sauce (my own addition)

Place chicken in slow cooker. Stir together the tomatoes, garlic, soy sauce, and mustard; pour over the chicken breasts. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Mix water and cornstarch together until smooth. Pour into the slow cooker, along with the mushrooms. Keep lid off and turn to high. Stir. Let thicken for about 10 minutes. I thought it needed a little more sauce so, I added some more tomato sauce at this point and let it heat through before serving. Serve over your favorite pasta.

The verdict: So delicious! The soy sauce gave me pause when looking over the ingredient list but, it was in no way discernable in the flavor of the recipe. All of the flavors melded together to make a rich sauce and the chicken was so soft that it just fell apart (kind of a pulled-chicken effect). I will definitely add this to my favorites list. Very easy and healthy.