Autumn Herbed Chicken with Fennel and Squash

I thhink I am giving up on the crock pot. You have to get up too early in the morning to make the menus by dinner. This recipe came from Costco who is trying to sell a new crock pot with a black interior. Before I give you the recipe I will tell you what happened. I got up and took the chicken out of the freezer to thaw. My trainer came at 11, yes, I do not do mornings. I did them for years while working. After she left, I relaxed with water and read the paper. Then I went into the kitchen and started the chopping. After finishing the chopping, I decided I was not going to bread and fry the chicken, too much of a mess for me. So I threw it all in the crock pot and hit low at 7 hours, totally oblivious to the time. At 5:30 PM I went into the kitchen to feed Max and realized that we would be eating at about 11:00 PM. Jim said no way and that is how last night’s dinner came about. It did not look that it would be done at even the time, as I had skipped the frying step, so I boosted the time. I forgot about it and went to sleep. When I awoke this AM, I could smell it. I went in the kitchen and realized it had been on warm all night. I said to JIm, sitting and eating breakfast, “Can’t you smell this? “ Yes, he says, it smells good. I had to leave, but at that point you could not iID squash, fennel, or chicken. I turned it off and left to go shopping. It is to be served over rice. I had rice soaking so when I came home tonight, I cooked the rice. I honestly thought I was eating garbage. Jim thought it was a "hearty beef meat meal." Should we ever get the Crockpot clean again it will be a long time before I use it. Following is the recipe. If you get up early and follow the rules, maybe it is good.
Ingredients:
3-4 # chicken thighs, I used chicken breasts as Jim does not like dark meat
Salt and black pepper
All-purpose flour
2T EVOO
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
½ butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ “cubes
1 t dried thyme
¾ C walnuts
¾ C chicken broth
½ C apples cider
Cooked rice
¼ C fresh Basil
2 t fresh rosemary, finely sliced
Preparation:
1. Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper, then lightly coat with flour. (I did this) Heat oil in skillet over medium heat until hot. Brown in batches to prevent crowding. Brown on each side 3-5 minutes, turning once. (Id did not do this) Transfer to slow cooker
2. Add fennel, squash an thyme. Stir well to combine. Add walnuts, broth and cider. Cover, cook on low for 7 hours. (This is where the problem started.)
It kind of looks like barbeque, so Jim will get it for lunch all this week. My crock pot is retired. Jim served a wonderful Vioansa . 2006 Syrah.  I will take that again by not the stew.