Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken

I wish you could smell this through the computer! WOW it smells so good!

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4 slices bacon

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. ground pepper

1 bay leaf

1 cup dry white wine

(or replace wine with 1 cup chicken broth mixed with 1 Tbs. lemon juice)

1 28- ounce can tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped

1 tsp salt

10 chicken thighs ( approx. 4 lbs) skinless & trimmed of fat.

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

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First cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Crumble when cool.

Drain off all but 2 Tbs. of bacon fat from pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until softened.

Add garlic, thyme, fennel seeds, pepper and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

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CAN YOU SMELL IT YET? !! :)

Add wine, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.

Add tomatoes and their juice and salt; stir well.


Place chicken thighs in 4 quart slow cooker. Sprinkle the bacon over the chicken.
Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 6 hours on low.



Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle with the parsley.
Serve with a fresh salad & rice!
Yum!
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Black Beans

Black beans are suppose to be a healthy protein and fiber so I thought I'd give this a try!

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1 lb of dry black beans

1 small red onion

1-2 small carrots

1 jalapeno chile

OR

1 can of green chiles

2 bay leaves

1 Tbs ground cumin

1/4 lbs bacon

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

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FIRST, rinse the dry beans and put them in a large bowl or pan and soak them over night.

Next, chop up the bacon into small pieces.

Chop the onion

Chop the carrots

Put the bacon, onion, and carrot into a large pot and cook until bacon is crisp and onion is tender.

Next,

drain beans and add them to the pan of chopped onion, carrots and bacon.

Add the chiles. I used a small can.

Add bay leaves, cumin, chicken broth, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour.


Uncover and simmer until beans are very tender, about 15 - 20 minutes longer.
Then remove and discard the bay leaves and the jalapeno if used.

They were very tasty and went great with the fish taco recipe that I have on here!