Dark Days Meal 10: Chicken with Mashed Acorn Squash

Sow cooker chicken and mashed acorn squash...a great meal to come home to.

I’m really embracing my slow cooker these days. It takes a little bit of planning, but it’s nice to come home from work to a dinner that is, at least mostly, ready to eat. I had intended this meal to be for the Dark Days one pot meal challenge. But when I couldn’t fit the acorn squash into the slow cooker with the chicken, I gave up on that. Two pot meals don’t count.

My local chicken ready for cooking.

I got this chicken at Mom’s Organic Market, and it is local (most of their meats are local). I rubbed it down with with my Bragg’s Chipotle seasoning (W VA) and some Florida Key Lime juice. Yes, yes. It is true that the Florida Keys are not technically local. However, I purchased this lime juice from the people who make it while I was in Florida this summer. I think that counts as local (sort of). I sliced up a beautiful red onion from the Maple Avenue Market and put it all in the slow cooker. I proceeded to forget to turn the cooker on. At 10 a.m. I called home, and fortunately Rick was still there. He turned it on low and dinner was saved.

Eight hours later I returned to a beautifully tender and juicy chicken. The key is to put the chicken on three aluminum foil balls. This keep the chicken from drowning in it’s juices. The skin ends up nice and crispy…just how I like it.

I sliced my adorable little acorn squash in half and steamed it in the microwave for about 7 minutes. I scooped out the insides and put it through my beloved ricer. Instant mashed squash. I stirred in some of my local butter and little salt and pepper. Delicious.

I wish the picture did this meal justice. I couldn’t get it right and I was so hungry I wasn’t about to spend a lot of time trying to figure out position and lighting. Maybe that makes me weak—or worse, a lazy blogger—but so be it. I cook these meals so I can actually eat them! (That said, I have ordered some photography aids, which I’m hoping help me improve my shots. We’ll see!)