Coq Au Vin - Crock Pot Style

I few months ago, I came across a website with TONS of crock pot recipes. This woman, she's amazing. And I made this dish the other night. And it was YUM-O! So go make it, it's perfect for Fall : )

Serves 4-6 (Matt and I had it for dinner, and I am having left overs for lunch today. There's enough left for one more dinner)

INGREDIENTS:
6 to 8 chicken thighs
6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon (I used turkey, but you could use PORK)
8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms (they are right next to the regular mushrooms)
1 cup baby carrots
1 chopped yellow onion
3 cloves chopped or minced garlic
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup red wine

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook your bacon. I used the already prepared and ever convenient bacon pieces that Hormel makes. If you choose to do the same, you don't have to cook bacon : )
2. Dump the chicken into your crock pot and then place veggies and spices on top. Add wine and broth.
3.Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice. Bread or biscuits might be nice too to sop up that extra yummy juice.

Quick Chicken and Wine with Brie Mashed Potatoes

This is a Rachael Ray recipe. When I first started cooking, I wasn't a fan of hers because I felt like her recipes required too many ingredients. Now, I've come to realize this is because typically her recipes include all aspects of the meal - main part and side dishes. This is a hearty, but still good for you dinner.

Serves 4 (I think it's more like 6, but Rachael likes her portions big!)

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs and breasts
1/2 bottle dry white wine
2 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup cream
1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus a drizzle
4 slices deli-cut bacon or thick cut pancetta, chopped
Flour, for dredging plus 2 tablespoons
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped or 1 cup shredded carrot
Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs thyme, stripped and leaves chopped
1/3 pound wedge brie, cut into pieces
Crusty, warm bread

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, add the chicken, cover with wine, and set aside.
2. Quarter the potatoes, leaving the skin-on. Place in a large pot, cover with water and bring up to a boil over medium heat. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and place in a medium bowl. Mash the potatoes, season with salt and set aside.
3. In a small pot, combine apple and cream and reduce over medium heat 15 minutes.
4. Drizzle EVOO in a large skillet over medium high heat, add the bacon and crisp 3-4 minutes. Remove to a plate.
5. While bacon crisps, remove the chicken to a work surface, reserving the wine. Cut chicken into large bite-size pieces, season with salt and pepper, dredge in flour then brown in bacon drippings. While chicken browns chop vegetables. Remove the chicken to a plate, then add 2 tablespoons EVOO to the skillet, season the vegetables with salt and pepper and add bay leaf and thyme. Cover pan to sweat vegetables 5 minutes then remove lid, stir in 2 tablespoons flour, cook 1 minute then stir in wine, add chicken back to pan and simmer together to thicken and the chicken is cooked through, a couple of minutes more.
6. To a food processor, add the apple-cream and brie, process until smooth and season with salt. Combine apple-brie mixture with the mashed potatoes.

Serve chicken with wine over brie mashed potatoes.

Paula Deen's Squash Casserole

Paula Deen makes some mean casseroles, and this one is no exception!

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 medium yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 sleeve crackers, crushed

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the squash, onion, and butter until soft. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan, Cheddar, and sour cream. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Place in the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the cracker crumbs evenly over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.

Zucchini Fries

We had BLT's for dinner last night and I wanted a side to go with them that was kinda sorta healthy, but also fit the bill for sitting next to a sandwich full of bacon. These did the trick!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 large zucchini (about 1 lb.)
3/4 cup of bread crumbs
3 tbsp of flour
2 eggs
Cooking spray
Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 450*
2. Cut zucchini into "matchsticks" that are about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.
3. Make an assembly line starting with the flour, beaten eggs, and then the breadcrumbs. Dip zucchini into each in that order.
4. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and place coated zucchini onto pan. Spray zucchini with spray.
5. Season with salt and pepper and then bake for about 20 minutes.