Sweet Potato Quinoa and Couscous Chicken Casserole in the Slow Cooker

 Slow cookers seemed to be made for cooking beans, tomatoes, rice or quinoa or grains of any kind. I made this gluten free for a young friend who was going to be visiting and it came out so well that I wanted to share it with you. Actually I made a mistake and put in 1/2 cup of couscous by mistake and then added a 1/2 cup of quinoa – and frankly it made it divine! Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Quinoa Couscous Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs ( breasts are ok but tougher and dryer)
• 2 Tbsp oil oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large leek chopped ( whites and light green only)
•  1/2 cup quinoa 
• 1/2 cup of couscous
• 3 pound large sweet potatoes ~3-1/2 cups
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 large can fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp Chili
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 7 cups chicken broth*
• Optional: fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Saute the onion, garlic, leeks until translucent.
2. Add the chicken thighs cut into pieces and saute for a few minutes
3. Add all to the slow cooker along with the rinsed quinoa and couscous.;
4. Remove the skins and chop the sweet potatoes into cubes adding them into the slow cooker.
5. Drain and rinse the black and pinto beans and add those in. Add in the undrained tomatoes,  chili and paprika powder, and chicken broth.
6. Place on high for 3-5 hours (It took 4 hours on high for my crockpot.)
7. Using two forks, shred the chicken and stir all the ingredients together.
8. Add salt and pepper and if desired fresh parsley.
9. Serve immediately