Pulled Chicken Mole by GrownUp KidStuff

This week we took flight on our latest journey into retail at Andersonville Galleria. Tucked away in “foodie corner” on the second floor our shop is compact and bijou, just large enough to share a slice of Zen. 

Our grand opening coincided with the Andersonville Loves Local weekend and we spilled out into the communal space to set up our Zen tasting table alongside GrownUp KidStuff who’ve been working this space for two years.

After some 20 years of making their small batch all natural homemade chocolate sauce, Connie and Don took the product to market. It had become so popular with their friends and family that it seemed like the obvious next move.

During the Loves Local event, I watched Connie and Don serve “flights” of their heavenly Original Chocolate Sauce, Chocolate Sauce with Grand Marnier, Original Caramel Sauce, Hot Chocolate Sauce, Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce and last but not least Butterscotch Sauce.

In Meg’s absence I was buoyed by their love and enthusiasm for their product. Shoppers tasted their way around the room, sampling our classic slow cooker chocolate chip pumpkin bread next before moving onto Let Them Eat Foods with “the best gluten free brownies you will ever taste.”

I soon felt part of a new community having taken yet another step, which felt more like a leap, from Lake Forest to Chicago to find a permanent home for our product. What matters are all the baby steps in between to get there.

Each week in February we’re taking our fellow artisans products and recipes for the slow cooker. Connie and Don’s Pulled Chicken Mole recipe uses their Hot! Chocolate Sauce for a rich, lightly spiced and velvety mole base. This unusual and traditionally Mexican blend of ingredients – chocolate, chili and chicken – are the foundation for this perfectly timed Valentines Day recipe. The chili heat is subtle, so if you like extra kick then add a chopped chipotle chili in adobo.

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time:  5-6 hours LOW or 2 ½ – 3 hours HIGH Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

1 tbsp light olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs

6 tbsp GrownUp KidStuff Hot! Chocolate Sauce (or your favorite chocolate sauce)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 x 14oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

½ cup dried apricots, chopped

3 carrots / 1 /2 cups diced

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp instant coffee powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup red wine

* optional 1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped

Method

In a skillet heat the oil and add the chopped onions. Sauté gently for 2 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic and transfer the mixture to your slow cooker.

In the same skillet, add the chicken pieces and brown on both sides for 2 minutes.

Stir the chocolate sauce and the balsamic vinegar into the browned chicken and transfer the chicken mixture to your slow cooker. Use a spatula to scrape all the chocolatey goodness from the skillet!

Add the tomatoes, apricots, carrots, cumin, coffee, salt, pepper and red wine to your slow cooker and stir well into the chicken mixture.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or HIGH for 2 ½ – 3.

Spoon over rice with the sauce or serve shredded wrapped in corn tortilla with a drizzle of sour cream and chopped avocado.

Zen Moment

“Imagination is more important than knowledge”

– Albert Einstein