This week I’ve been sick with a chest infection. I was sick all of last week but I tried to ignore it because I just thought it was a cold and that I would get over it. Turns out this wasn’t the case and it hit me hard this week, meaning I’ve been off work and sitting around feeling sorry for myself. On my third day of forced resting (I’m not very good at it in case you couldn’t tell) I decided that the least I could do is try and cook something for dinner. Something that might make me feel a little better.

I love nothing more than a slow cooked meal when its cold and I’m sick. It’s just about as magic as soup, which I have learnt over the past few days you can only consume so much of. So I wanted to cook something that might perk me up and warm everyone up while it’s so cold outside.

I found a recipe from Martha Stewart for slow – cooker sweet and spiced chicken, and thought this would be really nice. But I only had chicken breast, which doesn’t go well in the slow cooker due to its low fat content. So I had to change to roast it in the oven instead. I also changed it a little to update the flavours because I didn’t have the raisins the recipe called for, but I did have olives. So I really did take a bit of artistic license on this one, but I have done it before so I figured changing it up a bit was worth a go.
The result was a delicious chicken dish that really warmed me up and got a smile on my face. The chicken really takes on the flavours of the sauce and spices, and the sauce is packed full of delicious flavours. Plus, the recipe barely uses any oil and so it is actually really quite healthy for you. What more could you want? Comfort food without the guilt is the ultimate solution to being sick.

Sweet Spiced Roast Chicken

Adapted From	Martha Stewart
Serves	6
Preparation Time	30 minutes
Cooking Time	2 hours and 10 minutes
Ingredients ·         2 teaspoons of ground cumin ·         ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon ·         ¾ teaspoon of salt ·         ½ teaspoon of pepper ·         1 kilo of  skinless chicken breasts ·         1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil ·         1 brown onion, cut into wedges ·         3 garlic cloves, minced ·         3-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced into thin rounds ·         3 celery sticks, diced ·         1 can of diced tomatoes ·         1/3 cup of water ·         ½ cup of pitted olives Method 1.      Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius 2.      In a large bowl, combine cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat evenly 3.      In a large skillet, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Cook chicken until golden, about 4 minutes on each side. 4.      In a large dutch oven, pleace the onion, garlic, ginger and celery. Add the chicken to the top of this. Top the chicken with the tomatoes, water and olives. 5.      Place in the oven with the the lid on. Check every so often to ensure the chicken doesn’t overcook. It should take about an hour and a half to cook through. Stir every half an hour. 6.      Once the chicken is cooked, take this out and put aside in a bowl. Put the sauce back in the oven for another half an hour to ensure the juices cook down. 7.      For 10 minutes before serving, put the chicken back in the pot and cook with the lid off to ensure the chicken browns a little. 8.      Serve with roast vegetables or greens.

And that’s it! The recipe is really delicious and actually pretty easy once you have everything in the pot. You can just leave it until it’s done as long as you check it occasionally. And it’s actually quite healthy whilst still being really hearty. The sauce packs a lot of flavour and is beautiful when you spoon it over the spiced chicken.

I’d recommend this recipe whenever you have a couple of hours before dinner, you won’t be disappointed with the result. It’s a perfect winter meal and will really make you nice and warm on a cold night. Plus it keeps really well for leftovers, so what more could you want?

Until next time, happy cooking!

Ella xx