Impromptu Moroccan Dinner Party!

I got a wild hare this weekend, invited some delightful friends and their baby girl over for dinner.  I hadn't really planned what we'd be eating, and didn't have a lot of helpful groceries on hand.  Made a quick dash to the store, and somehow put together a delicious Moroccan-inspired meal.  Dinner was a throwback to our annual pre-baby minications to Savannah, Georgia, and one of our all-time favorite restaurants, the Casbah. 

Best Restaurant Ambience...Ever.

Rockin' the Casbah in 2008

Here's what I made:
Adapted from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
1 pkg Whole Cut-up Chicken (costs a little more than a whole chicken, but it's already cut up for you!)
Salt and pepper
2 T vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped (or part of a bag of frozen chopped onions, I eyeballed it)
1 1/2 t hot paprika (I used regular paprika, but you can add some chili pepper if you want the heat)
1/2 t cardamom (happened to have this left over from my Christmas attempt to make instant chai latte mix!)
6 minced garlic cloves (I used a few big scoops of jarred, minced garlic)
3 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1 c dried apricots, cut in half
1 cinnamon stick
1 15.5 oz can chickpeas (I had these, but totally forgot to add them!)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 c minced cilantro (forgot this, too)

1. Dry the chicken w/paper towels, then season w/salt and pepper.  Heat 2 t of the vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over med-high heat until just smoking.  In shifts, brown the chicken pieces on both sides until all chicken is browned.  Add chicken to the crockpot.
2. Add the remaining oil to the empty skillet and heat over medium heat until simmering.  Add onions, paprika, cardamom, and 1/4 t salt.  Cook until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds.  Stir in 2 1/2 c. chicken broth, the apricots, and cinnamon stick, scraping up any browned bits.  Bring to a simmer, then pour into slow cooker.
3.Cover and cook on low for 3 hours...I didn't have that much time, so cooked it on high for about 2 hours. You were supposed to add the chickpeas after cooking for 3 hours, but I forgot.
4. I didn't actually read this step in the recipe, but here's what it said.  Luckily, I instinctively did most of this anyway!  Transfer chicken to a large serving dish.  Remove cinnamon stick.  Set slow cooker to high.  Whisk flour with remaining 1/2 c broth until smooth, then stir into the slow cooker.  Cover and continue to cook until the sauce is thickened and no longer tastes of flour.  I also added a couple tablespoons of brown sugar.

For the Side, nothin' says easy like couscous!

I used a pre-seasoned box of Near East Toasted Pine Nut Couscous.  Followed the directions on the box, then added some slivered almonds, juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon, and a heaping teaspoon of brown sugar.

To complete the Meal:

Our friends brought a fresh-baked (still warm!) loaf of whole wheat bread and a bottle of local peach wine (which complemented the sweet, fruity flavors of our meal perfectly!).

All in all, it was a pretty tasty dinner!  I'm not going to lie, the chicken took a little more advanced prep than I like - I tend to think that a good crockpot recipe should consist of the following directions: 1) Dump ingredients into crockpot. 2)Turn crockpot on. 3) Wait. 4)Eat.  But that being said, I will totally make this meal again!!!