Nutritious and Delicious

Oh, y'all. You know, there are some days where I want healthy food. I desperately want a salad. Or some grilled veggies. Whatever.

Yesterday was not that day. It was a long day, and I had PMS. We left the gym, with the smell of Burger King wafting through the parking lot, and all I really wanted was a double cheeseburger and fries. Yes, I had gone home at lunch and put this nice, healthy meal in the Crock Pot, but by 6:30 it was decidedly NOT what I wanted.

But it was paid for, and it was healthy, and most importantly, it was there and it didn't require any further effort or driving or general energy expenditure, so I went with it.

And it was good.

Really good, in fact. I sat down to dinner grumpy and tired and hungry, and if I was still grumpy and tired when we finished, at least I was less so. And I wasn't hungry any more. It's hard work not to give into all of your cravings, but this time, at least, it was worth it. No promises for the rest of the week, however.

The recipe came from a Whole Foods email I somehow have started getting at my work email address, and it was a great surprise to receive. You can check it out here, or see with my modifications below.

Autumn Chicken-Apple Stew

Ingredients:
4 large chicken breasts
1 large, or 2 medium, sweet potatoes
3 firm baking apples
1 large sweet onion
*mushrooms (I thought it needed something else savory in it)
1 1/2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds (the secret ingredient)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
salt and pepper
*cayenne pepper (B thought it needed some spice)

Directions:
Core apples and chop into six slices each.
Slice sweet potatoes into large chunks (1 1/2-inch thick)
Slice onion into thick half-circles.
In a dry pan over medium heat, toast the fennel seeds until they start to smell good (about 2-3 minutes)
Dump everything in the Crock Pot for 6 hours on low.
Enjoy!