Chicken and Israeli Couscous Soup

The other evening I was browsing through Pinterest. This may come as a shocker, but I rarely go on Pinterest anymore. Their promoted pins and picked for you pins are so annoying. I rarely see anything my friends have pinned because of them. To my surprise, I saw a picture of a delicious looking soup made with pearl, or Israeli, couscous, chicken, and all sorts of good aromatics and spices. (I can't even write the word couscous without pronouncing it like Kahmunrah in Night At The Museum 2) The recipe was posted in full, but I tracked back to the original post at this blog. It's called "cold-fighting couscous chicken soup." I don't have a cold (knock on wood), but it sounded so good that I had to make some on this chilly (for Texas) rainy fall day, with a few tweaks. I used my pressure cooker, but this would be super easy on the stove top. (note: the aromatic pastes I use are the brand Gourmet Garden)

Chicken and Israeli Couscous Soup

1 small onion (or half a large) finely chopped

1 leek, white and light green parts, chopped (I quarter it to rinse, then chop)

2 carrots, sliced

1 rib celery, chopped

1 T garlic paste 

1 T ginger paste

1 T lemongrass paste

1 t chili paste or crushed red pepper flakes

1 t parsley paste

1 t turmeric

1 8.8 oz bag of Israeli couscous

1 boneless chicken breast, diced in small bite sized pieces

4 + cups chicken stock (I used one carton and it made a very thick soup)

1 t TrueLemon (or juice from half a lemon)

1 t TrueLime

1 t chicken base (it's like chicken stock concentrate - I used it instead of salt) or salt to taste

Set your pressure cooker to saute, drizzle some olive or canola oil in, and add your onion, carrots, celery and leeks. I let them soften for a couple of minutes while I was cutting up my chicken breast. Stir in the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chili and parsley pastes, followed by the turmeric. Add the couscous, stir to coat with the herbs and spices. At this point, cancel from saute mode so that everything doesn't get too hot and scorch. Next, add in the chicken, chicken stock, lemon/lime juice or the True Lemon/Lime crystals (I love the convenience of these crystals) and the spoonful of chicken base or salt if you're using. Place the lid on your cooker, close up, and move the vent knob to seal. Set on high pressure for 5 minutes. Vent with quick release method when timer goes off.

Enjoy!

Chicken And Dumplings - Comfort Food At Its Finest

We have another addition to the Instant Pot family. My Mom mentioned to my sister that she might like one as a group present for Christmas. Not being able to wait, my sister and I got her one for her birthday, and it arrived this week. She was surprised! She asked if I'd ever made chicken and dumplings. I hadn't, but I was willing to try.Truth be told, I've only ever had them once, many years ago. Man, I am glad I did, it was so delicious. This recipe is a bit of a mashup, because I am not capable of following recipes, and I refuse to use canned soup in my chicken and dumplings.

Instant Pot Chicken And Dumplings 

1 T olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt/pepper
1/2 onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t poultry seasoning
4 cups chicken stock
---------------
2-3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)
2 T flour
1/2 cup half and half
---------------
1 1/2 cups Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk

With your Instant Pot set on saute, drizzle in your olive oil. Season your chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pot and brown for about 5 minutes per side. Your chicken may break up a bit when turning over. That's fine. I used two forks to shred it a bit.  Next, add in your onion, celery, seasoning and chicken stock. Set your pot to high pressure for 12 minutes. (I like my chicken really, really done).

While the chicken is cooking mix together the Bisquick mix and milk, making sure you get all of the lumps out. The dumpling dough needs to be a little less stiff than if you were making biscuits, but not runny like pancake batter. You need a consistency where you can spoon it out and shape it in to an oval.

When your timer goes off, do a quick release of the pressure. It will take a minute or so, so take this time to mix the half and half and the flour together, making sure there are no flour lumps. This will thicken the chicken mixture, which will be really soupy when you take the lid off. Remove the lid, and stir in the half and half, and then the frozen vegetables. Next, carefully spoon the dumplings on top of the hot chicken mixture. I used one soup spoon to spoon mixture out of the bowl, and a second soup spoon to push the dough on to the chicken mixture. Space the dumplings out evenly. Put the lid back on your Instant Pot, leaving the vent open. Let the dumplings steam for about 10 minutes, then remove the lid.

Spoon out your delicious chicken and dumplings in to a bowl and enjoy!

Butter Chicken - The Easy Way

It would probably come as no surprise to you, if you've scrolled through my recipes over the last few years, that I like spicy food. The Aussie's mum was born and raised in India, so he was raised eating curry dishes. Usually, I make my version of his mum's recipe when I make chicken curry, but last night I wanted to try something different. I wanted to make Butter Chicken. I didn't want to run out and get ingredients I didn't have in the refrigerator, freezer or pantry, I heavily adapted the recipe from Pressure Cooking Today. Maybe I'm a bad Texan, but I rarely have jalapeno peppers on hand. Oh well. This was a winner in our book.

Pressure Cooker Indian Butter Chicken  (serves 4)

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs (one Costco pack)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 t ground chipotle pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch knob of ginger
2 T mild curry powder
1 T hot curry powder
1 t salt
1 t garam masala
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 sour cream (I use this in place of Greek yogurt when cooking because The Aussie hates yogurt)

1 - trim the excess fat off of the chicken thighs, and cut them in to large bite pieces
2 - Put the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chipotle, curry powders, salt and garam masala in a blender, and blend until fairly smooth. You don't want chunks of tomato in the sauce.
3 - Set your pressure cooker on brown. Add half of the butter. When it's melted, add the chicken pieces and brown them. This will take about 5 minutes per batch, and you may need to do a couple of batches of chicken. Note: The original recipe calls for all of the butter to be added, but the chicken wasn't browning, so I took everything out and added the chicken back in to brown. The remaining butter was added back in with the tomato sauce.
4 - When the chicken has browned, add the rest of the butter, and cook until it's melted.
5 - Add in the tomato puree and stir, making sure all of the chicken is coated.
6 - Cover the cooker and lock the lid. Select high pressure for 5 minutes. When the timer beeps that the 5 minutes is done, let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release to drop it the rest of the way.
7 - Stir in the cream and sour cream (or yogurt if you're using it).  Taste the sauce, and add more salt if necessary.

Serve with hot rice and enjoy!

Summertime... and the grilling is easy

It's been a busy weekend, with a lot of eating out (mostly healthy!), running around (literally - I did my 3rd half marathon on Sunday) and resting. Last night the weather held out and I grilled Mexican style chicken and corn on the cob. Delicious! (please note: my chicken is the one without the skin - The Aussie loves his with, but I was being healthy)

Mexican Style Chicken

4 chicken thighs (with or without skin) or pieces of your choice
1 t coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
1 t cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1 T orange juice concentrate
1/4 c thinly sliced scallions
2 T agave syrup
1 T fresh thyme
3 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, minced
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t True Lime

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Place chicken pieces in a sealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Close bag and smoosh the marinade all over the chicken. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

I grilled this, using the indirect heat method. Cook for about an hour, or until chicken near bone is no longer pink and the temperature is at least 180 degrees. I am sure this would be fantastic baked, too!

2011 Hunger Challenge

I'm not going to lie to you. This will not be an easy challenge to do. It will, however, be a worthwile challenge to try. Meal planning isn't simple for me, primarily because The Aussie tends to be a fussy eater. Meat and potatoes, meat and rice (plain with gravy or sauce) with some veggies thrown in, tend to be the way he rolls.

In preparation for this challenge, I started going through grocery receipts to see what I've paid for frequently purchased items, I've prowled through various grocery stores with a notebook and pen, jotting down prices and servings. What I'm finding has surprised me.

To start with, I did some grocery shopping at The World's Largest Retailer on Saturday morning. I purchased a few things that we were low on, and took LOTS of notes. On the way home, I stopped at another discount grocery store to write down a few comparison prices. Once home, I started writing down recipes and calculating cost per serving. Since I'm using the $4.72 per person, per day allowance, I need to know how much what I want to cook will cost.

Breakfast, at least for The Aussie, was easy. He basically eats 1 of 3 things, along with his coffee, every day.

Breakfast 1: Eggo Nutrigrain waffles (2), 1 T butter, 1 ounce of real maple syrup = .55+.09+.40=$1.04

Breakfast 2: 1 cup of Kellogg's cornflakes, 1 c 2% milk, 1 t sugar = .13+.15+.01=.29

Breakfast 3: 1 serving oats, 1/2 c 2% milk, 1 t sugar=.06+.08+.01=.15

Yesterday afternoon I went to an Asian grocery store in my town because I had some coupons for fruits and vegetables that were expiring that day. What a madhouse it was! It was also enlightening. The vegetables you can purchase at an Asian grocery store are super fresh, very reasonably priced, and there is a tremendous variety. If you like cooking Chinese food, you can buy your staples like soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil and chili paste much cheaper than you can in the specialty section at your regular grocery store. I also found chicken thighs (bone in with the backbone section) at this store for .69 per pound. That's a huge difference between the 1.08 per pound and 3.36 per pound at the first large store I went to. Do I like to buy organic? Yes. If I was on a food stamp budget would I have that luxury? No. The entire package of 5.28 pounds was $3.64 and it contained 9 large pieces. That's .40 per chicken thigh.

Last night for dinner I made a spicy chicken curry. The Aussie is sick, so I figured he might be able to taste something spicy (I was wrong). Here's my cost breakdown for TWO SERVINGS for this meal:

2 large chicken thighs (.80)
1 chopped onion (.20)
1 can diced tomatoes (.48)
2 garlic cloves (.08)
2 T vegetable oil (.06)
curry powder (.20)
rice (.12)
peas (.25)
Total for meal: $2.19 for two people

Chicken Divan

Well, I lost a follower this week. I don't know if it was because I blogged about my race last Sunday or if it was because I hadn't posted a chicken recipe in a while. An IRL friend, one who's actually known me since 6th grade, said it was the chicken issue. Oh well. Enjoy the interwebs without me, unknown former follower.

So, The Aussie's never been a casserole person, which I think is a crying shame. I grew up with "weird" casseroles (aka stir fries before they were cool) so I love real, honest to goodness, casseroles. I picked up a rotisserie chicken at Costco last night, so I had leftover chicken to cook with. Here's what I cooked up tonight:

Chicken Divan (and then some)
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes
2 cups cooked broccoli
1 cup cooked spinach (I had leftover from last night, sauteed with garlic)
2 cans low fat cream of mushroom soup mixed herbs
1/4 c white wine
panko bread crumbs
parmesan
salt/pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 375. In a sauce pan, combine the 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup with the white wine. Add in some herbs and stir. When warmed up, remove from heat. Dice your cooked chicken. If you need, cook your vegetables. I had a few asparagus spears from the garden that I steamed in a bag for 45 seconds, then I steamed the broccoli. I had left over spinach from last night, so I added it in the dish. Spread the vegetables in a casserole dish. Add in the diced, cooked chicken. Pour over the cream of mushroom soup and stir until the soup is settled in with the vegetables and chicken. Cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and top with some parmesan and panko crumbs. I, do humbly admit, use parmesan from the large green container I get at Costco. Last time I bought the real stuff it went moldy, so I use the "fake" stuff. Bake for 10 more minutes.

If you need to run it under the broiler to get it browned, like I did, feel free.

I have to say, this was really good, and I think, not that bad for you. I just wish The Aussie liked casseroles...

Fast, Easy, Fresh

My local Border's is, unfortunately, one of many that are closing. The Aussie and I stopped in last weekend. My word, the line was as bad as for the midnight release of Breaking Dawn, but without the squealing girls. I immediately headed over to the cookbook section. I may make the same things over and over again, but I love cookbooks. One of the first I picked up was Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh cookbook. I'm so glad I did. It has some great recipes. Last night I made sauteed chicken with garlic and rosemary. I did substitute balsamic vinegar for the red wine vinegar, but it was super easy. The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but I'm sure you could make it with chicken breast if you prefer white meat. The recipe serves 4, but I cut it in half. My version is below.

Sauteed Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary

1 pound of chicken thighs, with bone and skin
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper

Heat heavy skillet over high heat and add oilive oil to skillet. I used my huge cast iron skillet. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet, skin side down, and brown for about 7 minutes. Flip chicken over and brown on the other side for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cover. Cook until chicken is cooked through (at least 165 degrees). This took 20-25 minutes for me because one of the pieces was larger than the others. The recipe calls for 15 minutes, but I don't like any red near the bone, so I cooked it longer.

Transfer the chicken to a plate. If there is a lot of drippings in the skillet, drain all but 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic and the chopped rosemary. Saute for a minute. Add the chicken broth and the vinegar. Reduce the sauce by half, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve with sauce spooned over the chicken pieces.



My thoughts: this tasted wonderful. I usually give my chicken skin to The Aussie, so having the sauce to spoon over the chicken was really lovely.

Baked Chicken Parcels

In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to post a quick and easy, yet elegant recipe.

Baked Chicken Parcels

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, finely sliced
2 yukon gold potatoes, finely sliced
1 cup baby carrots
2 T olive oil
1 T parsley, finely minced
1 t lemon zest
juice of one large lemon
4 small bay leaves
salt/pepper
1 t garlic powder (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Score the top of each chicken breast in the thickest section 2 or 3 times. Salt and pepper each side to season.

Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss to combine.

Cut off four sheets of heavy foil large enough to hold a single chicken breast and an equal portion of the potato and carrot mixture. Place a handful of the potato mixture in the middle of each sheet of foil, making sure each has a bay leaf. Place a chicken breast on the top of each portion of vegetable mixture. Fold together the foil, bottom to the top and then the sides, folding over and crimping the edges closed. You want to make sure that each pouch is completely sealed, but that there is room in the parcel for the steam.

Place the parcels in a shallow pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the chicken is
done (165 degrees). Be careful opening up the pouches, as steam will build up.

Simple, yet elegant. You can't go wrong!

Chicken Tikka Masala

It's been a while since I did a recipe post, so without further ado, Chicken Tikka Masala. This is a quick and easy style recipe.

1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
lowfat plain yogurt
ginger paste
minced garlic
Patak Tikka Masala paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
1 glug of olive oil

Mix together 1 cup of yogurt, 1 T minced garlic, 1 T ginger paste and 4 T of the tikka masala paste.

Add in cubed boneless skinless chicken thighs. This is about 1 pound of chicken.

Mix together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

After an hour, heat up a large, heavy pan on medium high. Add your glug of olive oil. Cook the diced onion about 10 minutes, until soft and golden. Sorry, I didn't get the picture of this step.

Stir in the chicken mixture. Turn the heat down to medium low. Cover pan and cook for about 20 minutes.

Add in the can of diced tomatoes. Stir well and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Before serving, spoon in about half a cup of the yogurt. Many recipes call for heavy cream, but I used yogurt. One, because I had it, and two, because low fat yogurt is a lot healthier than heavy cream.

Serve on rice with peas. You can also serve with yogurt cucumber sauce.

A Twist On Chicken Noodle Soup

This was good....It was inspired by the Asian Noodle Bowl recipe from Eat Clean Diet Recharged by Tosa Reno.

Asian Chicken Veggie Soup (serves 4)

1 large chicken breast, sliced

1 t olive oil

2 T soy sauce, low sodium

2 T sesame oil

1 t chili oil

1 t rice wine vinegar

1 t ginger paste

2 t garlic paste (equals 2 cloves)

4 cups chicken stock (if not homemade, use low sodium)

2 cups water

1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks

4 cups bok choy, chopped (this is about 1 head)

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 oz. uncooked buckwheat soba noodles

Mix the sliced chicken, sesame oil, chili oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and garlic together. In a hot pan, pour in 1 t of olive oil and saute the chicken until mostly done, about 5 minutes. Add in the chicken stock and water and cook at a high simmer/low boil until stock is hot. Add in the veggies and cook for 5 more minutes. Lastly, add in the soba noodles and cook 5 more minutes, until the veggies and noodles are tender.

I haven't done the calorie count yet, but each serving is 5 WW points.

I love my slow cooker...

I wish I had more counterspace. If I did, my slow cooker would be used a lot more often.

Hoisin Orange Chicken

1 cut up chicken (I also added 1 extra split breast because we were having company)
4 T orange juice concentrate
1/4 c. honey
4 T hoisin sauce
1 T ginger paste *
2 T garlic paste *
1 T sesame oil
1 T chili oil
1 T rice wine vinegar
optional - 1 green onion sliced for garnish

1. Preheat your slow cooker
2. Brown chicken pieces
3. Place chicken pieces in slow cooker
4. Combine all other ingredients, mixing well, and pour over chicken.
5. Cook on low for 3 hours on high and then 2 hours on low.
6. Serve on rice and garnish with green onion

* I get Laxshmi brand from either the ethnic aisle of the supermarket or from an Indian grocery store.




Enjoy!

The gumbo that won the Super Bowl

Did you know that this gumbo helped The Saints win the Super Bowl? That's right. That nice gentleman from The Saints who intercepted that ball and ran 60 yards down the field for a touchdown was dreaming that he was running to a bowl of this most excellent gumbo. And now it can be yours, just in time for Mardi Gras.

Chicken And Sausage Gumbo (serves a football team)

1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped red pepper
2 stalks celery, sliced
3-4 pounds of chicken pieces (legs, thighs, breast)
1 1/2 pounds fully cooked smoked sausage (andouille, keilbasa, etc), sliced on diagonal in 1/2" slices
1 t salt
1 t cayenne pepper
2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t thyme
1 t garlic powder
1 t paprika
1 t dry mustard
1 t ground file
1 t Tabasco sauce
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal (optional garnish)

1. Chop up your vegetables.

2. In a small bowl, blend together the black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, paprika, dry mustard, file powder, garlic powder and salt.

Rub about 4 teaspoons of the spice mixture on the chicken pieces.

3. Combine the all purpose flour and 2 teaspoons of the spice mixture together and coat the chicken.

4. In a large frying pan, cast iron if you have it, brown the chicken pieces over medium high heat for at least 3 minutes each side. Remove chicken and set aside, draining on paper towels if needed.

5. To the large frying pan, add the vegetable oil and heat over medium to medium high heat. Add the flour and spice mixture that was used to coat the chicken pieces. (I needed to add more flour since I'm messy when it comes to coating chicken pieces). Stir the flour and oil together to make a "roux" (aka "a smooth paste"). Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly until it turns a nutty brown. DO NOT LET THE ROUX BURN.

When the roux reaches the color brown you want, add in the onion, bell peppers and celery to the roux and remove from the heat. Stir the mixture together to coat the vegetables, making sure there are no clumps.

6. In a large dutch oven, bring your stock to a boil. Whisk 1/2 cup of the hot stock into the roux mixture. Slowly add the roux and vegetable mixture to the stock, stirring constantly so there are no lumps.

Add the sausage and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often. (Note: I used Oscar Meyer turkey keilbasa and a Texas brand of smoked jalapeno and cheddar sausage. I think the jalapenos made it spicier than normal.)

7. Add in chicken pieces, bay leaves and hot sauce. Cook over medium low heat for at least 40 minutes, or until chicken pieces are cooked through. (I cooked over low for over an hour since I was making it in the early afternoon.)

8. When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the pot and cool. When it's cool, remove the skin from the chicken and the chicken from the bone. Cut into bite sized pieces and return chicken to the pot.

At this point, adjust your seasonings and it's ready.

Serve over hot rice and garnish with green onions.

I also made this seven layer dip with black beans, ground turkey with taco spices, guacamole, low fat sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes and green onions. Fantastic.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner

Now that the FabFatties cruise is over and gone (I miss you guys very much!) I'm trying to get back into my routine. So I'm back to figuring out what's for dinner, and that includes figuring out what kind of chicken to cook for dinner. Last night was Oven Crisp Chicken (adapted from recipe on pg. 68 from 365 Ways To Cook Chicken), and oh, this was a good one.

Oven Crisp Chicken

1 cup low fat sour cream
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t regular paprika
1/2 t hot paprika
1/4 t celery seed
1/2 t salt
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 cup breadcrumbs (recipe calls for stuffing mix that you pulverize. I used Italian breadcrumbs)
1 chicken, cut up
olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl mix together the sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, celery seed, salt, garlic powder and pepper.


Pour breadcrumbs into a dish (I poured onto waxed paper because it's easy and doesn't mess up another dish).


Dip the chicken pieces in the sour cream mixture and roll in the breadcrumbs.






Place coated pieces in a pan that you lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Spritz top with olive oil spray (the recipe calls for melted butter) and bake for 1 hour.

Serve with veggie of your choice, salad, whatever is in the freezer...


The review: This chicken was really moist on the inside and lightly crispy on the outside. I'll be making this one again.

We aren't the only ones getting bigger...

I made an observation the other day. People aren't the only ones bigger than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Most of the "whole chicken" recipes in 365 Ways To Cook Chicken call for the chicken to be about 3 pounds. The chicken on the right is about 3 pounds. 2.87 to be exact. When I first picked it up at the store I thought they accidently packaged a half chicken. Nope. That's a whole chicken. The chicken on the right is 5.4 pounds.

So a recipe calls for 3 pound bird and it serves 4. If you make it with a bigger bird, which is almost all that's available these days, is it still going to feed 4? Yup, it probably will given the way many people eat now. The only thing is, I don't hear the chicken saying "supersize me," do you?

The Great Chicken Project - day 1

Welcome to "The Great Chicken Project." This might be a stupid idea (the jury, aka The Aussie, is still out on this), but I'm going to cook my way through the book "365 Ways To Cook Chicken" by Cheryl Sedaker. My Mom has a copy of this 1986 book and I've used several of the recipes over the years. I picked up a used copy on Amazon because I missed having access to the book. I figure if you're going to eat chicken a lot you should have a bunch of recipes to chose from.

Last week, before I started The Project, I made the Kung Pao chicken (pg. 51) with a couple of ingredient variations. Since it's absolutely freezing here I wanted the next dish to be something warm and comforting. The winner was...

Coq Au Vin (serves 4)

4 slices of bacon, diced

1 T butter (I used bacon drippings instead)

1 chicken (3 pounds) cut up (I used 4 chicken thighs)

18-20 small white onions, peeled (I used 4 boiler onions. I cried peeling them too.)

2 cups thickly sliced mushrooms (Yes!)

2 garlic cloves, chopped (I use chopped from a bottle)

2 T flour

1/4 cup brandy (I don't have brandy, so I didn't use any)

1 3/4 cups red wine (I used YellowTail Grenache with the bright pink stripe on the label)

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1 bay leaf

salt/pepper

1/4 t dried thyme

In a large frying pan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel.

Preheat oven to 325.

I had so much bacon drippings that I poured out most. Season chicken with salt and pepper (both sides) and cook until a nice golden brown. This usually takes about 5-7 minutes on the skin side. I used my cast iron skillet because I've found that chicken browns really well in it.

Transfer chicken in casserole dish that has a cover.

And we're slicing... (I had plenty of mushrooms in the fridge. Memo to self: when inviting people over for New Years Eve dinner, find out *first* if they like mushroom sour cream sauce or stuffed mushrooms. You won't have so many leftovers.)

Add onions to frying pan and cook until lightly browned. (I forgot to do this and put them in together with the mushrooms. They didn't brown, but they still tasted good) Transfer onions to the pot with the chicken. Add mushrooms and garlic to pan and cook until soft. Transfer to casserole with the rest of the gang.

Add flour to the fat in the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the brandy (if you have it) and the red wine to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is bubbling and thick.

It's Pink!

Remove from heat and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with 3 T parsley (I forgot to do this), add a bay leaf, thyme and the cooked bacon pieces.

Cover and bake for an hour. When done, remove bayleaf and serve, garnishing with the remaining chopped parsley.

Phew. Day 1 of The Great Chicken Project has been completed. Well, kind of day 2, since I did make the Not Quite Kung Pao Chicken already.

The Verdict: This was a great dish to serve on a cold winter night. The leftovers were great the next day too.