Low Fat Crockpot Chicken and Chickpea Stew

With the cold and wet weather we’ve been experiencing here in the Puget Sound, I’ve been making good use of my crockpot to prepare warm, comforting meals such as this richly flavored low-fat chicken and chickpea stew. The beauty of using a crockpot, or slow cooker, is that in most cases, you need no added oil or fat. So without the need to sauté onions or brown the chicken, I indulged a little and used skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. Chicken thighs are higher in fat than skinless chicken breasts, of course. But chicken thighs do have a more complex, meaty taste, and become meltingly tender in slow-cooked stews and casseroles. Enjoy this Middle Eastern-inspired low-fat chicken and chickpea stew with some whole-wheat couscous.

_{Chicken and Chickpea Stew © Fiona Haynes, licensed to About.com, Inc.}