Yummy chicken tagine recipe!!

[twowhat?]

I adapted this recipe from a beef tagine recipe posted here and a rabbit tagine recipe from fine cooking magazine in order to up the veggie/meat ratio and it is DELICIOUS. DH loved it! And it's fairly easy. Spices can be adjusted to your preference, but the base is paprika, cinnamon, and pepper.

6 chicken thighs with skin, trimmed of excess skin and fat (leave most of the skin on)
1 small yellow onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6-8 carrots, sliced thinly (cut in half, then slice on diagonal)
2 large red bell peppers, sliced thinly
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cardamom (optional)
pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
pinch of ground cloves (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 can of diced tomatoes, do NOT drain
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained

Mix all the dry spices together, and toss the chicken thighs with the dry spice mixture in glass bowl. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and turn the pieces to coat evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in fridge for at least 2 hours. Take out and let sit at room temp for 20 minutes before proceeding.

Peel back part of the plastic wrap and pour the excess oil into a dutch oven (I used my Le Creuset). Heat oil on high and add 3 of the thighs, meat side down. Brown for a couple min and then turn over and brown the skin side for a couple min. Set aside on a plate and repeat with remaining 3 thighs.

Lower heat to med-high. Scrape any remaining oil from the glass bowl into the dutch oven. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are soft. Pour the can of tomatoes (the whole thing, with juices) into the dutch oven and scrape up brown bits. Add the chicken, carrots, and chickpeas. Stir to mix, cover, and simmer for 30 min.

After 30 min, open lid, rearrange the chicken pieces so they lay in a single layer (they will have shrunk enough with cooking to be able to do this), taste and adjust salt, and then add the bell pepper on top. No need to mix.

Cover and simmer another 30 min. Open lid, stir to mix, and then let simmer until you're ready to go to bed (another 30-45 min for me). Turn off the heat and then just let it sit on the stovetop to cool until the next morning. As long as you don't open the lid, it's safe to do (IMO). The next morning, it's ready to pack for lunches or refrigerate until dinnertime!

I made this on a Sunday. During the girls' nap I prepped the chicken to marinate and cut all the veggies and garlic. Then after they went to bed I cooked. After browning the chicken it doesn't need all that much babysitting so I could still relax and shower/read while it cooked