Crock Pot Recipe: Italian Chicken

Tonight, we are going to have Easy Italian Chicken, modified from the cookbook Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes.  (A friend gave me this cookbook as a wedding present and it has been one of my favorites; the other favorite is How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, also a wedding gift.)  I bought some cabbage (a thrifty standby!) a couple of weeks ago and I have just the last quarter of it to use up, so this recipe jumped out at me when I was planning this week's meals last week.  Here is my modified recipe:

Easy Italian Chicken

1/2 a medium head of cabbage, cut into wedges (12 ounces) --My quarter head weighed out at this amount.

1 medium onion, sliced and separated in rings (1/2 cup) --Onions were 59 cents for three pounds last week at my local produce market!

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

2 to 2 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces --I'm using skinless chicken thighs.

2 cups meatless mushroom spaghetti sauce  --The original recipe called for a small can of mushrooms, but since mushroom spaghetti sauce is 99 cents at ALDI, I opted to combine these two items and save a little bit of money. 

Grated Parmesan Cheese  --I don't skimp here.  We eat real parmesan that looks like cheese and doesn't come from a green can.

(1) Layer cabbage, then onions, then mushrooms on the bottom of your crock.  Sprinkle tapioca over the vegetables.  Place chicken pieces on vegetables and pour spaghetti sauce over the chicken.

(2) Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  Transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with Parmesan.

I'll try to post a photo later.