Oscar fashion!

Well, I've always sort of wanted to be a fashion critic--not that I have any qualifications to do so, mind you--and since I have my own blog, I can be :) Be warned--my comments are not going to be based on any sort of fashion knowledge, but rather, where or not I liked the dress...

I really liked Reese Witherspoon's deep purple dress, and I think her long, straight hair and the diagonal, layered hemline was a great way of creating a sleek, elegant look.

I loved Penelope Cruz's dress--what an amazing skirt, and she has the long lines to be able to wear it and not look like she's going to fall over. Her dark complexion was enhanced by the subtle tones of the dress, rather than having it wash her out and make her look pale (like Kirsten Dunst's dress did). And Helen Mirren, in addition to being extremely beautiful, was wearing a completely elegant dress that is appropriate to someone playing the Queen of England. The neckline, in particular, has subtle edges, which draws attention to her figure in an understated way.

















My biggest praise, however, goes to Abigail Breslin, who wore the dress of a 10-year-old, rather than trying to dress as a glamorous Hollywood starlet. Abigail, good for you--have fun being 10. Besides, what isn't fun about wearing a pink princess dress?

As far as the dresses I didn't like....

I know that the initial commentary on the fashion at the Oscars is praising the women for their bold color choices, rather than going with dresses that were the traditionally elegant black. And yes, it is nice to see colorful dresses. But I think that color can just as easily backfire on you, particularly when it's a color that has specific associations.

For example, take Nicole Kidman's dress. Now, I realize that a lot of critics think her dress is great and she looked wonderful, but I can't help thinking that she looks like a strangely wrapped Christmas gift. In my opinion, if she had gone with a darker color and foregone the big shoulder bow, this dress would have been a wonderful look for her, enhancing her long lines and slim figure. As it is, I get too caught up in the red to think about the actress who is actually wearing the dress.

I also didn't like Jessica Biel's dress--it does nothing to flatter her figure, what with the high neckline and strange, high belt. I'm also not a huge fan of the color, although she can pull it off, and I think her hair looks weird. Yes, I know that's not a technical fashion term, but it's the best I could come up with.

But regardless of whether I liked them or not, when I see dresses like this, I think how it might be fun to be famous, just so that I could wear a gown that I think is fabulous, even if others think it's not.

Three Fun Movies

One advantage of your brother-in-law and sister-in-law living close by is that their Netflix subscription = your Netflix subscription. Ok, not really...but this last month, I have been able to see 3 movies that I wanted to see, all compliments of someone else's Netflix. Thanks guys :)

First up, Accepted--

Yes, this is a dumb movie. And the ending is completely implausible. But overall, it was a lot of fun, and it was a lot funnier than it could have been. In fact, it was a lot funnier than most of these "coming-of-age" teenage films. And it didn't rely on a lot of sex for its appeal, either. Yes, there is a funny scene with a guy in a hot dog costume yelling "Ask me about my weiner!" which still cracks me up, but that's hardly sex. I guess I was just pleasantly surprised how unlike American Pie this was.

One thing that did disappoint me a little was Lewis Black, who plays the dean of the fake university. I thought he was going to be acting, and I was interested in seeing how he did. Well, he didn't act--his character was himself, just with a different name. Don't get me wrong; I think Lewis Black is freaking hilarious, and he has some wonderful things to say about the state of Wisconsin. But I was interested to see him act, which he didn't do.

Next up--The Devil Wears Prada...

Well, this movie was cute and fun mostly because of the clothes, and the thought that "wow, it would be awesome to have that job." Meryl Streep's character was great--I don't think she deserves the Oscar, but I really enjoyed her character and think she did a good job with it.

Anne Hathaway's character, however, REALLY pissed me off. Her boyfriend's assessment of her was totally correct; she kept whining about how she was stuck in this job and didn't have a choice, but she needed to own up to the fact that she did have a choice, and had chosen to do the job. I guess what frustrated me the most was the implication that she couldn't do the job well and stay true to herself. I don't think there would have been anything wrong with her telling her boyfriend "I really enjoy doing this tough job well," wearing fashionable clothes to work, and working her ass off, while at the same time, continuing to eat grilled cheese, wearing jeans at home, and fine-tuning her journalism skills. And I was completely irritated that she went from a 6 to a 4--what the HELL kind of message does that send to young girls watching that? That in order to be fashionable, you have to lose weight, even if you're not fat to begin with? For a movie, especially one that supposedly pokes fun at the fashion industry, that's a lousy message to send.

In spite of her character, however, it was a fun movie...and I really loved the Harry Potter scene :)

Last up....Little Miss Sunshine...

I'm not going to say a lot about this movie, except that I really enjoyed it, and I think you all should see it if you hadn't already. Greg Kinnear does a fabulous job, and brings humanity to a character that you really would want to smack upside the head if it weren't for Kinnear's performance. I did find it a little difficult to think of Steve Carrell as someone other than Michael Scott from The Office (speaking of which, Pam and Roy broke up! Woot!), but his character cracked me up. And I loved the relationship between the grandfather and Olive; it definitely had the potential to be weird, but it ended up just being very sweet and poignant. And at the end, hilarious.

And even though Jennifer Hudson will probably get it, I would really like to see Abigail Breslin win the Oscar.

The Burning Crusade, Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my review of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

First up: mobs.

This is another aspect of the expansion that I was really impressed with. Blizzard could easily have created all these zones and populated them with creatures that already existed in the game--ogres, murlocs, naga, etc. And while there certainly are some of these familiar mobs, there are also a wide variety of new creatures to fight.

Of the new creatures found in Outland, here are some of my favorites:

Crust Bursters and Spore bats




Fen Striders and Warp Stalkers












All of the mobs really fit well into the zone they're in, and do a good job of creating the atmosphere of the zone. And although certain things like the spore bat seem physically impossible, they're a fun change from what we're used to.

One really enjoyable thing about almost all of the new mobs in Outland, regardless of what they are: the wide variety and creativity in dying animations. Now, this might sound a bit morbid, but it adds a level of depth to the game. While most mobs in the original World of Warcraft would more or less just fall over, the mobs in Outland are more unique in the ways they die. The Fen Strider shown above, for example, sways back and forth, slowly losing his balance. Blood Elf mobs reach toward the sun with their dying breath; mana worms spin around in a flurry, leaving only a glowing ball. All these animations are certainly overdone and unrealistic, but they give some personality to the creatures that inhabit Outland, which, in turn, makes encountering them a new, exciting experience.

Quests

The questing is one aspect of the game that I think Blizzard could have done a little more with. Certain things about the quests in the expansion are very well done. For example, most of the quests designed for solo players are pretty easy to do, making leveling a straightforward process rather than a painful grind. Mixed in with these easier quests are challenging quests for groups; these aren't necessary to complete to level up, but they provide a step up in difficulty for those looking for it.

Another good thing that Blizzard has done in the expansion is make it clearer how many people are needed to complete a quest. Rather than just call a quest "elite", Blizzard now has a suggested number of people needed to successfully complete a quest. This is particularly helpful when it comes to escort quests, which in the original World of Warcraft, were often labeled as solo quests and were unreasonably difficult.

One thing that could have been improved on, however, was the content of the quests. Too many of them simply rely on the tried-and-true "kill this many monsters, collect 10 of their tails" method. I realize that coming up with new, innovative quest content is a challenge, but if WoW hopes to hold the interest of its players and continue to be cutting edge in game design, they need to challenge themselves more in this area.

That's not to say that there weren't a lot of really great, fun quests to do that were based on new and different ideas. Immediately upon coming to Outland, you start a quest chain that leads to you flying on a grif and bombing things. It's a totally easy quest, but SO much fun.

Perhaps my favorite quest line so far is the one that starts with the Damaged Mask drop in Blade's Edge Mountains. After a series of quests, you end up in the area of the zone called "Death's Door," where you used a flare to signal a druid, who then comes and gives you instructions. You collect special ammunition, and then use it to fire enemy cannons against their own structures. For the final quest, you summon druid helpers to defeat the boss of the area. All in all, it was a really innovative quest chain with lots of new and different things to try.

Along those same lines, one thing that Blizzard has done a better job of in The Burning Crusade is connect quests together. I feel like I've noticed more quest chains, rather than just individual "kill 10 wolves" quests. In some cases, these chains even carry over from one zone to the next. For me, this has given the entire expansion a more connected feeling, and I've gotten into the story behind the quests more. And it also has made me feel like what I'm doing is making a difference; people are recognizing my efforts, and giving me more work to do as a result.

Next up....instances.

New 7 Wonders of the World

For those of you who haven't heard, a group called The New7Wonders Foundation has organized a vote for the new seven wonders of the world. Their idea is that it is ridiculous that of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only one of them still exists, and so it's time to come up with seven wonders of the world for the 21st century.

Of course, any talk about the 7 wonders of the world begs the question, "Can you name the original 7?" So take a moment....

While you think I'll give you the website for the foundation; here's a link where you can go and vote for what you think should be the new 7 wonders of the world.

Ok, so the original 7 wonders of the World are:

• the Great Pyramids at Giza
• the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• the Colossus of Rhodes
• the Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (say that 5 time fast!)
  
• the Lighthouse at Alexandria

Of these the only one still left standing is the Great Pyramids. Now, the list of candidates for the new 7 wonders of the world includes the Great Pyramids, but it also includes such upstarts as the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. Egypt is kinda pissed about this--rightly so, I think. I mean, their wonder was the only one of the original 7 to survive earthquakes, storms, and over 2000 years of being beaten on by tourists. I think that the pyramids should get a bye in the voting process, and be automatically given one of the spots. Needless to say, the Great Pyramids got one of my 7 votes.

Among the candidates for the New 7 Wonders are the following structures: the Great Wall of China, Neuschwanstein, the Sydney Opera House, the Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, Christ Redeemer statue (Rio de Janeiro), the Acropolis, the Alhambra, Angkor, the Pyramid at Chichen Itza, the Colosseum, the Easter Island Statues, Hagia Sophia, the Eiffel Tower, Kiyomizu Temple, Machu Picchu, Petra, the Pyramids of Giza, and Timbuktu.

I think the organizers of the vote did a good job at selecting structures from all over the world. There are some candidates, however, that I feel are distinctly out of place on this list, such as the Statue of Liberty, and the Eiffel Tower. These places are too new; building them wasn't a challenge like building the pyramids was. And some of them, Neuschwanstein in particular, aren't really historically significant; it's just a pretty castle built by a lunatic king.

So, when I voted, I selected places that met 2 qualifications: they were an impressive architectural achievement and they had stood the test of time. In my opinion, places like the Great Wall of China, the Easter Island Statues, the Pyramids, Machu Picchu, and Stonehenge fit these qualifications. Not only do we still marvel about how the people of the time constructed such places, but they have provoked endless speculation about their significance and meaning. And that, I think, is what a true wonder will do.

Thank heaven for TiVo

My thoughts on the way The Office has been going in the last few episodes:

1. I really don't like the way that the whole Jim and Pam thing is going. It feels like we've been there/done that, particularly this week, after Pam and Roy went home together. I also think that we're seeing a side of both characters that takes away from their original attractiveness as a couple. Jim is acting callous (yes, I know he's just trying to get over Pam, but still...), and Pam seems perpetually uncomfortable and out of her element. Maybe the writers are trying to develop the characters more, but frankly, I liked them both better before this season.

2. What is going on with Ryan this season? Why is he such a jerk? A few episodes ago, when Jim asked him to play a prank on Andy, Ryan says, "Ask me again about 10 years ago." What? What has happened to make him change into such a meanie? I love how Jim called him out on it: "I liked you better when you were the temp." Way to go, Jim; you put into words what I was thinking.

3. Speaking of Andy....hooray, he's gone!

4. This week, LOVED the opening sequence with Jim conditioning Dwight like one of Pavlov's dogs. Hilarious :)

5. Also, I think the writers are again getting closer to some of the cringe-worthy writing that made the first season so great. It helps that the last two weeks have been novelty situations--the wedding showers last week, and then the wedding itself this week. These new settings allow for new situations for Michael to be awkward in, rather than just doing same-old, same-old. But this week, I actually covered my eyes at some points--I just couldn't believe Michael was doing what he was doing. These moments are what sets this show apart from a traditional sitcom, and I'm happy to see the writers working on developing them more.

6. And finally, the moment from yesterday's episode that makes me extremely grateful for TiVo....

When Phyllis was tossing her bouquet, I fully expected Kelley to push, shove, and trample everyone to get it. She wore a white gown and a tiara to a wedding (not hers) for goodness sake--this girl wants to get married, and get married NOW. So I was surprised to see that Toby's date got the bouquet instead (btw: go Toby! she's cute!). When we rewatched the scene in slow-motion, however, we saw Ryan, standing behind the girls. As the bouquet heads straight for Kelley, Ryan jumps up and deflects the bouquet off to the side!!! It was amazingly hilarious, and I would have totally missed it without the magic of TiVo.

The Burning Crusade, Part 1

After the dramatic countdown to the release of The Burning Crusade, I'm sure many of you are curious why I haven't posted about it sooner. Well, I didn't want to be hasty in my judgment, and I wanted to have experienced a lot of the pre-raiding content before deciding what I thought about the World of Warcraft expansion.

So, after 3 weeks of playing the game almost every night and most weekends, here's what I think: I love it.

In almost every aspect of the game, I think Blizzard Entertainment has done really great things, making the game more of a challenge and providing plenty of content for us to work our way through. Getting to level 70 is really just a first step; after that, there's a complicated system of instances and key quests to keep us busy. Because most of these instances are smaller than the 40-man size we saw in the original game, it's much more appealing time-wise, and calls for greater skill from the individual player.

Rather than try to cover all aspects of the expansion in one post, I'm going to devote a separate post to some of most important areas of the game, starting with the new continent added: Outland.

Outland is the original homeworld of the orcs, ripped apart by a surge of energy from portals to other worlds. It's currently home to Illidan, one of the most powerful evil forces in the World of Warcraft.

Perhaps what has impressed me the most overall about the expansion is the way that Blizzard designers captured this dangerous, frontier feeling in the landscape of Outland. Unlike the two continents of Azeroth, which are surrounded by oceans, the zones in Outland are bordered by nothing--you can fall off the edge. (I'm actually kind of excited to try falling off the edge, but I don't have enough room in the bank to put all my gear there in case I have to spirit rez :) )

Here's a picture of Teranu standing near the edge of the world in the zone of Netherstorm. Behind her, you can see asteroids that move around, with lightning zapping between them. Very cool.You can also see planets and other outer-space-like things in the sky, which further adds to the feeling that you are exploring a dangerous frontier. Illidan's words from the trailer to the Burning Crusade really hit home: "You are not prepared!" You start to think, well, maybe I'm not...maybe I should just head back to Azeroth, pretend this silly Dark Portal doesn't exist, and see how many other characters I can get up to level 60.


But then you realize that, in spite of how intimidating it looks, these new zones are very beautiful and extremely cool, and there is nothing that you want to do more than explore them. And so you do, and you're impressed at the diversity in design, with the common theme of danger carried throughout. You have the swamps of Zangarmarsh, the barren wasteland of Hellfire Peninsula, and savannas of Nagrand, and the rocky uncertainty of Netherstorm. Of the zones I've seen so far (I haven't been to Shadowmoon Valley yet), the only one I didn't like was Blade's Edge Mountains, primarily because it was such a pain to get around in. After the 15 minute graveyard run in that zone, my husband and I decided to skip to something a little easier to get around in. Also, while most of the zones have a feeling of continuity--marsh-like creatures in Zangarmarsh, safari wildlife in Nagrand--Blade's Edge Mountains seemed cobbled together, without an underlying theme. Perhaps that was the point, but regardless, it didn't work for me.

So far, my favorite is Netherstorm--I really like the cluster of islands all grouped together. And the lightning in the background is pretty cool as well.

Next up: Mobs....

A Detective Movie

Last March, a friend mentioned going to see the movie Brick and how excited he was about it, and then I promptly forgot all about it. Then, a few weeks ago, I was over at some friends' house, and they asked if we wanted to watch it. I vaguely remembered having heard of it before, but couldn't place where. After the first 10 minutes of the film, I wasn't convinced. The dialogue was really fast, I had no idea what anyone was talking about, and the star of the film was Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for pete's sake. I mean, this was the kid who starred in Third Rock from the Sun and 10 Things I Hate About You.

But then, I started to get into it. I loved the cinematography, which is noticeably minimalist in a film-noir style. The focus on the smoke from a single cigarette or the lack of extras populating the set creates a quiet brooding that underlies the tension of the plot.

And then, I realized that even though I didn't understand what was going on, that was the point. Brendan (Gordon-Levitt's character) doesn't know what's going on either, and the movie is a way for both him and the viewer to figure things out.

I think it helps that I enjoy traditional film noir to begin with. This film hints back to The Maltese Falcon; at one point, Brendan asks Laura to honk the horn four times--long, short, long, short--which is the same as the doorbell signal that Sam Spade gives Brigid O'Shaughnessey in The Maltese Falcon. And the fact that Brick takes the cinematography, dialogue, and plot of a traditional film noir and transports it to a high school in 2005 is, in my opinion, a stroke of genius. There are a few times when Rian Johnson really takes advantage of this and self-reflexively pokes fun at the movie, such as the scene where Brendan sits in the drug-kingpin's mother's kitchen, drinking orange juice next to a ceramic rooster. Excellent.

So, if you have the patience to get into it, this movie is well worth watching. The cinematography is beautiful, the plot is interesting, and the acting is well-done. I was particularly impressed with how different Gordon-Levitt was from everything else I'd seen him in. And leaving several situations ambiguous at the end was the perfect way to end the film, leaving me still thinking about what exactly happened.

Teranu's Thoughts on the Super Bowl

First of all, let me congratulate all the Colts fans out there on your team's Super Bowl win. Last night, I counted myself among you, since I had drawn the Colts in my family's football pool, and for the first time, won the whole thing! I admit, I was pretty skeptical after the first 14 seconds went by and already the Colts were behind, but they came through in the end. Hooray!

Even though I don't normally cheer for the Colts, I was genuinely glad to see Tony Dungy finally win a Super Bowl. He's a quieter coach than many, opting to talk with his players rather than yell at them. And it seems that almost everyone who watches football, regardless of which team they cheer for, agrees that Dungy is a classy coach and a great human being. Well done and well deserved, Tony.

Now, to the Super Bowl stuff that really matters--the commercials!

To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with most of them this year. Far and away, the company that had the funniest spots was Budweiser. Several Bud Light commercials were laugh-worthy--the rock, paper, scissors ad and the hitchhiker with the axe in particular. The commercial that got the biggest laughs at the party I was at was the one with the crabs who stole the cooler full of Budweiser. Very funny :)

Snickers had a pretty funny spot with two mechanics kissing, and the 3 Careerbuilder.com ads I saw, with the office workers in the jungle, were consistently funny as well.

What I was most interested in, however, were the several commercials that took on a darker tone. I'll start with the one that may or may not be dark, depending on how you view it. It's the Coke commercial with an old man who, after having a Coke for the first time, rushes out to try all the things he hasn't done yet in life. This doesn't seem particularly dark; however, several people that I was watching the game with said that they thought the old man had Alzheimer's, and that he'd really had a Coke before and had just forgotten. Since he's in a nursing home, this seems like a possible explanation, and makes the commercial depressing instead of inspiring. My thought is that since he is actually gone from the nursing home at the end of the ad, it tends more towards inspiring. What do you all think?

The NFL ad "It's hard to say goodbye" was also slightly sad, mostly because of the ending. The spot shows fans everywhere mourning the end of football season, followed by the words "It's hard to say goodbye." Then, the ad cuts to Brett Favre thoughtfully tossing a football, followed by the words, "For some, it's even harder." Now, I know that Favre has said that he's coming back for the 2007 season, but this ad seemed to hint at the possibility that Favre was saying goodbye for good. It might be that it's just saying that for someone who loves the sport as much as Favre does, the end of the season is especially hard. But for those of us who are Packer fans, it served as a depressing reminder that Favre's retirement is getting ever closer...

And finally, the ad that honestly almost made me cry. The GM robot ad. This ad is very well done; I really connected with the robot, and felt sorry for him. But jumping off a bridge at the end? Wow. Portraying suicide in a Super Bowl commercial, even the dream sequence suicide of a robot, is really dark. Then again, it's strangely motivating. I find myself thinking of buying GM, just so that robot can keep his job. Ok, not really.

It was a cute robot, though...

The Book of Lost Things

John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things is one of the best books I've read recently. It tells the story of a young boy, David, whose mother dies and whose father remarries. Upon his father's remarriage, he moves away from London to the country, where he begins to hear books talking to him. After a series of fights with his new step-mother, and ultimately, his father, David is drawn into a fantastic world created from the books he has read.

Connolly's prose is unbelievably beautiful, and even more than that, has incredible flow that draws you into the story and effortlessly pulls you along. It was one of those books that made you keep reading. Actually, words like "pull" and "made" are too strong of words to describe the effect of Connolly's prose, since they suggest force. It was more like floating down a river on an inner tube, being guided by a gentle current.

I only put the book down once, and that was after David escaped from a particularly horrible situation. A note of warning: although the hero of the book is a young boy, this is not a book for young children. Some of the images are horrifying and gruesome, and the fairy tales in the fantasy world are the original versions, not the watered-down, Disneyfied ones that always have happy endings.

For me, what made this book so appealing was how real it was. Throughout the story, David feels incredible guilt over the death of his mother, thinking that if only he had carried out his daily routines more diligently, she would still be alive. I know that these feelings were definitely ones that I could identify with. David's character is just one example of this; even though most of the story takes place in a fantasy world, Connolly carries this reality throughout his book. He doesn't shy away from the horrible things that happen in life, nor does he shy away from the beautiful things. And because of this, it makes the joy, wonder, and hope that David experiences that much more real for the reader.

Always Wear Clean Underwear....

Remember how your mother used to say, "Always wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident and end up in the hospital?" (To be honest, I never really understood this, because if I'm in an accident and end up in the hospital, the state of my underwear will be the least of my concerns. But whatever.)

Well, it looks like Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, could have used this advice, or more specifically, the version of it that goes, "Always wear socks without holes in them in case you have to take off your shoes to enter a mosque in Turkey."

The Washington Post asked, "Would you accept financial advice from someone who won't spend three dollars on a pair of new socks?" And sock manufacturers are rushing to send Wolfowitz socks to replace the holey (or holy, after the mosque visit...hehe) ones in the picture.

The Post's question is an interesting one. On one hand, someone who won't buy new socks until it's absolutely necessary seems like someone who would be good at saving money, eliminating unnecessary expenses, etc. But, on the other hand, it also suggests that Wolfowitz is looking to save himself money and maximize his own wealth, even at the expense of his personal appearance, and also, perhaps, at the expense of others.

Slow-Cooker Chicken with Sausage and Corn

Here's another recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook: Revised Edition, but I think it needs some tweaking. The recipe is for chicken breasts or thighs, cooked with kielbasa, corn, and red peppers in a crock pot. Both my husband and I really enjoyed the flavor, and thought it was a great way to spice up a chicken dish.

There were, however, some things that were just a bit off. Mostly, it had to do with how to serve it. The recipe calls for chicken with the bones and skin (allegedly to keep the moisture in the chicken), and some of the tough bits fall off the bone in the crock pot. This makes it difficult to eat the dish as stew. If you just serve the chicken, and then spoon the vegetables and sausage over it, you lose a lot of the vegetables in the broth and they go to waste. I think next time I might just try it with boneless/skinless chicken, and make sure that it stays submerged in the broth in the crock pot.

Two other things that weren't ideal--first, the broth gets a little oily (because of the sausage and chicken thighs, of course), so if you want to eat it as stew, you might want to work on cutting down on the fat, possibly by using chicken breasts and low-fat sausage. Also, it does take an hour of prep time before everything goes in the crock pot. So if you're expecting a dish where you just throw everything in a pot and you're done, this isn't it. The results are delicious though, so it's an hour well spent.

Oh, yeah. The original recipe calls especially for fresh corn, NOT frozen. Finding fresh corn at a reasonable price in the middle of January is not worth my time (if it's even possible), so I used frozen (*gasp*) and it turned out fine. So there.

If you want to try it out, the recipe is on p. 435 of the cookbook, otherwise, here is a slightly condensed version:

Slow-Cooker Chicken with Sausage and Corn

6 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts, or 12 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs, trimmed
salt and pepper
2 T. vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. chicken broth
1 lb. kielbasa, sliced into 1 inch chunks
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 c. frozen corn
1/4 c. flour
1.5 c. jarred roasted red peppers, cut into 1 inch strips
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then brown both sides in a skillet with the oil for about 10 minutes. If using thighs, remove the skin, then place chicken in the slow cooker.

2. Discard most of the oil in the skillet, except for 2 tsp. Add the onions and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in 1 1/2 c. of the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer, then pour into the slow cooker.

3. Add the kielbasa, thyme, and cayenne to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. After 3 hours, nestle the corn into the slow cooker around the edges, then replace the cover and continue to cook until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour.

4. Transfer the chicken to a large serving dish and tent loosely with foil. Set the slow cooker to high. Whisk the flour with the remaining broth until smooth, then stir into the slow cooker. Add the peppers, cover, and continue to cook 15-30 minutes longer until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the vegetables and some of the sauce over the chicken and serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.