Crockpot Coq Au Vin (chicken in wine for the non-pretentious)

OK, I will admit that sauteing onions at five o'clock this morning made me moderately nauseous for the rest of the day. However, this was so good it was worth it! To cut down on my bleary-eyed prep time this morning, I chopped all of the veggies the night before, measured out herbs and flour into my handy little prep bowls, set up the crockpot and set out the non-perishable ingredients.

Be sure to season the sauce well at the end or pass plenty of salt and pepper.

Crockpot Coq Au Vin
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 smallish carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3/4 lb. white button mushrooms, stemmed and halved
4-6 strips of bacon (I found this to be largely unnecessary)
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 bottle dry red wine (according to the recipe, white works too for a lighter dish)
1 can chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Pinch of dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme

The night before:

Chop all veggies and half mushrooms. Place onions, carrots and garlic in one bowl, mushrooms in another. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Measure out flour into a small prep bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set out next to crockpot with the chicken broth, red wine, thyme and salt and pepper.

In the morning:

Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add bacon and fry until crisp. Set aside, allow to cool slightly and chop. (I didn't think this added anything to the dish. I'm sure it imparted some flavor, but I'll probably leave it out next time).

Season chicken with salt and pepper. In the same skillet, brown chicken on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Place chicken in crockpot and sprinkle with bacon (if using).

In the same skillet, add the mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and garlic and saute for about a minute longer. Sprinkle the veggies with the flour, stir to coat, and add veggies to the crockpot.

Return the pan to the heat and use the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits. Bring to a boil, add the chicken broth and add the liquid to the crockpot.

Add the thyme and cook on low for 8 hours.

If the sauce is too thin, ladle some of the liquid into a Pyrex measuring cup, add a couple tablespoons of flour and whisk well. Add this roux back into the crockpot, stir well and let cook on low for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.

Serve over egg noodles and with a green salad. And a nice big glass of whatever wine you cooked with. After all, the only thing lawyers like more than suing people is getting drunk! Enjoy.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tangine

OK, so pretty much anything you can dump in a crock pot at 5:30 a.m. and just leave all day is awesome in my book. There is something so satisfying about having dinner make itself. I made a chicken tangine today that turned out pretty tasty. I thought I had couscous, but it turned out those boxes were just pesky brown rice pilaf mixes that take 40 minutes to cook so I never make them. I served this over white rice, but I think couscous would have been better.

Moroccan Chicken Tangine for the slow cooker
1 medium white or yellow onion, cut into thick slices
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cumin
1.5 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 14 oz. can chicken broth (low sodium)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 lemons, quartered
1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Line bottom of crockpot with thick onion slices to prevent sticking and burning.

OK, when you start this, you can go one of two ways: simple or slightly more complicated:

1. Throw chicken, cumin, cayenne, broth and 1 tbsp. olive oil in crockpot on top of onion slices. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. of flour.

OR

2. Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Dredge chicken thighs in flour and quickly brown on each side (about 2 minutes). Remove chicken and place on top of onion slices. Stir spices into the pan with the remaining dredging flour and cook for about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with the entire can of broth, scraping up the brown bits. Pour broth mixture into crockpot over chicken.

Now you're at the same spot.

Pour tomatoes with juice over chicken, add the parsley and garlic and tuck the lemon quarters around the chicken. Cook on low heat for 4-8 hours. About an hour before serving, add the chickpeas.

Serve over rice or couscous.