Fruited Chicken Tagine from Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever

I'm not really sure what happened to me last week, but all that momentum from the beginning of a new year was suddenly totally and completely sapped. Waking up felt like plopping my feet in five inches of mud that I trudged through all day long. That's the thing about January. The first week feels awesome, then the next thing you know you start counting the days until spring.

However, before I got sucked into last week, I did manage to make the Fruited Chicken Tagine from Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever by Diana Phillips. Whenever I reach for this book, I look at the title and snicker, but then when I'm eating, I think, wow, this might actually be the best slowcooker book ever. This recipe calls for chicken thighs, which I despise, so I made it with two bone-in chicken breasts instead. Also, it calls for prunes, which, at the bottom of the page reminds you that really are just dried plums. Regardless, I couldn't get myself to buy some, so I used some figs instead, which were awesome. I prepped everything, threw it into the cooker, and took off for a great Thai lunch in south Berkshire County. It's an awesome thing to come home and have dinner ready---after all, that's why I bought the slowcooker in the first place!

Fruited Chicken Tagine
8 chicken thighs, skin and bones removed (or the aforementioned substitution)
1 1/12 tsp salt
1/ tsp cayenne
1/4 cup olive oil (I used way less!)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 tsp ground tumeric
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup dried apricots (I used a whole cup since I love them!)
1/2 cup dried plums (like I said, I used figs, and then I added a handful of golden raisins and currants)
1/2 cup orange juice (I splurged on some that was freshly squeezed---so good!
Grated zest of one orange
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup water mixed with 2 tbsp corn starch
3 cups cooked couscous

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and cayenne. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken a few pieces at at time and brown on all sides.
Transfer the browned chicken to the slowcooker. Add the onion, cumin, tumeric, garlic, ginger, and brown sugar to the skillet and saute until the onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes.
Transfer what's in the skillet to the slow cooker. Add all the fruits, OJ, zest, and broth. Cook and cover on high for 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours, until the chicken is tender and the fruit is plumped.
Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook an additional 30 to 45 minutes until the sauce is thickened ( I didn't do this, and it turned out fine. You should eyeball it.)
Serve chicken, fruit, and sauce over couscous!