Crockpot Creole Chicken

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds of chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
• 1 cup of classic Coca-cola
• 2 tablespoons of Zatarain's Big & Zesty Creole seasoning, or your favorite Cajun/Creole seasoning, to taste
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup of chopped celery
• 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms, optional
• Fettuccine or other wide pasta, cooked al dente

Instructions

Remove skin from chicken to reduce excess fat if desired. Season the chicken on both sides generously with salt and pepper; add to a 6 quart slow cooker. Whisk together the tomato sauce, Coke, Creole seasoning, basil and garlic powder. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and whisk. Pour over the chicken, cover and cook on low for about 6 hours. Add fresh, sliced mushrooms if desired, in last 10 minutes of cooking. Skim off any excess fat from the top and spoon some of the sauce into the cooked and drained pasta to coat, then serve the chicken alongside the noodles with another veggie or a nice side salad.

~Cook's Notes~

Variation: Try this with some nice bone-in pork chops. Use 4 to 6 1/2-inch thick chops and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Brown the chops for color before transferring to the crockpot if desired.

Note: I used Zatarain's Big & Zesty original Creole seasoning, which is a big flake seasoning pictured in the post above. If you substitute a more finely ground Cajun or Creole seasoning, such as Slap Ya Mama, you'll probably want to reduce it significantly, and be a little more frugal with the salt.

*Courtesy of Deep South Dish