Chicken Cacciatore

This was a good meal and Emi said it reminded him of something that his mom used to cook at home. His only complaint was that I didn't add enough salt, but that is what he usually says. He can add more salt while my arteries don't shrivel up because I don't use so much salt. I skipped the step where it told me to brown the outsides of the chicken and it still turned out great. The recipe calls for crushed tomatoes, but I couldn't find any so I used 2 cans of italian diced tomatoes. It gave it an excellent flavor. I used 2 cans because I actually had 4 pounds of chicken legs. I also only used green bell peppers since the red ones are so expensive. I didn't use instant rice, but I used my good ol' rice cooker to make regular rice instead. Overall, very easy and the house smelled delicious all day!
Sorry (again!) no picture. My excuse this time is that I was babysitting a friend's children, a 7 month old and a 3 year old to be exact, so I can't say my brain was completely normal by dinner time. Check out the link for a picture.
Haha! Really I think my brain has gone but I can't blame it on the babysitting. It looks like when I made the food in the morning - I completely left out the Italian Dressing, so if you try this let me know how it is with the Italian Dressing added!

Here is the unaltered recipe:

Chicken Cacciatore
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
3 lb. chicken thighs and drumsticks
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms (about 10 medium), sliced (about 2 cups)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup each: red and green pepper strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
3 cups instant white rice, uncooked

DIRECTIONS
1. HEAT dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken, in batches; cook 2 to 3 min. on each side or until browned on both sides.
2. PLACE mushrooms, onions, peppers and garlic in slow cooker; top with the chicken. Combine tomatoes, salt and thyme; pour over ingredients in slow cooker. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH for 5 hours).
3. COOK rice as directed on package. Serve chicken mixture over the rice.

Kraft Kitchens Tips: Taking the lid off your slow cooker for even just a minute reduces the heat and extends the cooking time. Lift the lid only if instructed to do so in the recipe.