Mediterranean Slow Cooker Chicken | The Recipe ReDux

Moist and flavorful set-it-forget-it chicken with oregano, olives, sweet potatoes and dried plums.

{Disclosure: As co-owners of The Recipe ReDux, Deanna & I were compensated to manage this contest but not eligible to win associated prizes. Thoughts and opinions are my own.}

I'm on the second week of my personal Pantry Challenge: To eat only what's in my pantry, freezer and fridge for 2 weeks.

Inspired by Sally @RealMomNutrition and her similar, but MUCH longer 1-Month Pantry Challenge, I decided to take on the spring-cleaning healthy pantry challenge.

So, starting on Earth Day, we took the plunge to stay away from the grocery store for two weeks.

I thought it would be a snap; I knew many of our Boston readers had done it this winter during their totally snow-bound days, right?

But we've had our ups and downs with this pantry challenge.

Downs :

• After we ran out of milk, we resorted to the pantry-staple powdered dry milk. While it's a magical ingredient in Homemade Protein Powder, the kids decided it's not so magically delicious on breakfast cereal.
• Running out of yogurt. Even the frozen stash of Yogurt Pops.
• The fight over the last egg was fierce.

Pretty minor in the scheme of things.

Now for the Ups:

• Getting to be really creative in the kitchen. Here's a picture of what I was working with: Random condiments and whole grains galore.
• Finding a whole container of our favorite frozen Mushroom Bolognese.
• Dried plums! They've served as super sweet spot as the cupboards have become more bare.

The truth is that we always have a giant stock of dried plums on hand. We eat dried plums (formally known as prunes) for dessert, snacks and treats on a regular basis. My kids equate their sweetness with candy - really. They love the chewy texture of dried plums because they are just fun to eat.

When the California Dried Plums Board challenged The Recipe ReDux to the “No Bones About It” Challenge to kick off National Osteoporosis Month, I also was reminded of the bone-health benefits of dried plums. So, strong bones are just one more reason to feel good about serving dried plums to my kids - and enjoying them myself.

What I haven't done yet, is cook with dried plums.

But, after throwing together this chicken dish, everyone in the family decided cooked dried plums are tasty too. I called it Mediterranean Chicken as most of the ingredients I found in my pantry were of sunny Mediterranean origin - except possibly sweet potatoes. (Do sweet potatoes grow near the Mediterranean Sea??) But they were the last veggies in my pantry! And the combo of dried plums plus sweet potatoes plus salty olives was a true crowd-pleaser.

Do you cook with dried plums? Would you take on a pantry challenge?

More creative California dried plum recipes from ReDuxers in thumbnails below!