"Skinny" Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice ***

I didn't totally stick to the recipe with this one (surprise, surprise), but I didn't stray all that far.  I kind of sort of doubled it, but not by measuring anything.  Just added a little more of everything, so that I'd have leftovers to send with dh and me for lunch tomorrow.  I didn't have an extra box of wild rice, so I just added some brown.  It doesn't say to add the wild rice spice packet, but I did anyway.  I'm glad I did too, since it would have been really bland otherwise.  I didn't bother doing the sauté with the onion and bell pepper.  Just poured it all in the crock together, minus the EVOO.  Also, instead of dicing peppers and onions, I just used a frozen bag of three pepper and onion blend and dumped it in still frozen.  It was done perfectly by 4 hours, so even a minute over would have been too much.  It probably could have done even better at 3-3.5 hours in my crockpot, but it always cooks pretty fast.

Verdict was a good one.  We all enjoyed it.  I made it less "skinny" by putting just a little bit of shredded fiesta blend cheese on it at the end, but I liked the addition.  Next time, I want to do what it says about using the fire-roasted tomatoes.  I normally do that, but I completely forgot to grab some at the store.  That will kick the flavor up just a bit too. 

"SKINNY" SLOW COOKER CHICKEN AND RICE
(SkinnyMs)

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup wild rice blend, uncooked (wild rice, long and short grain brown rice)
2 (thawed) chicken breasts fillets, skinless, cut into 2” pieces
1 cup chicken broth, fat free, low sodium
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with liquid
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet, add onions and bell pepper and sauté on medium low heat until tender, about 3 minutes.
Add rice and continue to sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove skillet from heat and add the remaining ingredients, except chicken, stir to combine.
Place chicken in the slow cooker and pour ingredients from the skillet over chicken. Cover and cook on low 4 hours.
NOTE: If you like extra spice in your dish, use “Fire Roasted Tomatoes” as a substitute for diced tomatoes.
*Amy's notes: I skipped the sautéing stage, omitted the oil, and dumped everything directly in the crockpot.  I also subbed a frozen three pepper and onion blend for the chopped veggies.