It's my favorite kind of Christmas the gift - the trinket or book you pick up while you're shopping for others. Sure, I didn't need that polka dot cuff bracelet from J.C. Penney and the black dress I got at the Banana Republic outlet but they sure did look good on me.

Then there's the "Pillsbury Fast Slow Cooker Cookbook." That gift to myself ... well, I might be able to argue that I needed that one. The book is full of slow cooker recipes with minimal prep time. Seriously, what's the point of using the slow cooker if you still spend forever prepping things? Cut (vegetables) and dump (into the pot) is my motto.

And there's very little cutting and a lot of dumping in the recipe I picked for the week: Moroccan Chicken Stew. With its exotic flavor (mmm, cinnamon!) and served atop couscous, it should be a great diversion from the hearty holiday meals of the past two weeks.

Moroccan Chicken Stew

Stew:

1 cup ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots

1 medium onion, chopped

1½ cups chicken broth

1½ teaspoons ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1¼ pounds)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 small zucchini, cut into half-inch pieces

1 small yellow squash, cut into half-inch pieces

1 (15-ounce) can chick peas, drained

In a 4-quart slow cooker, mix carrots and onion. In small bowl, mix cumin, cinnamon and red pepper. Sprinkle over vegetables. Top vegetables with chicken thighs. Pour chicken broth and lemon juice over chicken. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours. Gently stir zucchini, squash and chick peas into stew. Cover; cook 30 minutes longer. Meanwhile, during last 5 minutes of cooking, prepare couscous according to package directions. Spoon couscous into individual shallow bowls. Top each with stew. Serves 6.