Almond Chicken

The dried minced onion (sometimes sold as dried onion flakes) will absorb some of the chicken broth during the cooking process and naturally thicken the sauce. For a subtler flavor, use freeze-dried shallots available from The Spice House (www.thespicehouse.com) instead.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
• 4 strips bacon, cooked
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ¼ cup dried minced onion
• 1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 ½ cups celery, sliced diagonally
• Cooked rice
• 1 cup toasted slivered almonds

Add the chicken broth to the slow cooker. Cut the bacon and chicken into bite-sized pieces; add to the slow cooker along with the dried minced onion, mushrooms, soy sauce, and celery. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve over cooked rice and topped with the toasted slivered almonds.

Toasting Almonds

You can toast slivered almonds by adding them to a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently until the almonds begin to brown. Alternatively, you can bake them at 400ºF for about 5 minutes, stirring them occasionally. Whichever method you use, watch the almonds carefully because they quickly go from toasted to burnt.