Coq Au Vin – A Rustic, Yet Elegant Meal

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Chicken, Cooking, Coq Au Vin, dutch oven, Food, mushrooms, recipe, slow cook, Wine

  

I first fell in love with French cooking when I was in high school and made Coq Au Vin for a French club potluck. The savory red wine sauce, laced with bacon over fall-apart tender chicken and sweet carrots is a refined dinner that is elegant enough for company, but easy enough for any family dinner night. I chose to serve mine over brown rice with a side of organic artichokes that I couldn’t resist drizzling with a little of the bacon fat. Not a healthy choice I know, but it’s not often I cook with bacon, so I couldn’t resist and it was totally worth it!

This meal was basically one of those where I threw everything into one pot, let simmer and relaxed for a while. I love those kind of meals! Cook a little, relax a little and voila! So without further delay….

Coq Au Vin

1 1/2 pound chicken (I used bone-in thighs with the skin removed. You could use boneless as well.)

1 1/2 cups hearty red wine (I used a favorite Cabernet Sauvignon. Remember, if it’s not good enough to drink, it’s not good enough to cook with. Do you want your food tasting like a nasty wine? Nope!)

2 cups chicken broth

4 oz tomato paste

2 shallots, diced

2 carrots, cut in thick slices

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

8 oz bacon

I used my Dutch oven on the stove top. You could also use your slow cooker, but cook longer. Pour wine in your pot. Then add chicken broth and tomato paste. Whisk lightly to break up the tomato paste and mix with other liquids. Add remaining ingredients, except for bacon. Simmer over medium low heat, covered for 1 hour. Tilt the lid on your pot to vent and cook another 30 minutes. Increase he heat a little if needed to maintain the low simmer.

Meanwhile, cook your bacon in a frying pan and once cooked tear or dice. Shortly before serving, add the bacon to your pot of coq au vin. If you want to keep this dish on the lighter side, you can leave out the bacon. It will still be good, but you know what they say, “Everything is better with bacon!”

This dish is very saucy and is very nice served over rice.

Voila!

Stewed Black Beans – Super Easy, Make Ahead Dish!

Tags

Black Beans, Cooking, Food, healthy, low-fat, side dish, slow cook, slow cooker, vegan, vegetaria

  

A week or so ago, I posted a recipe for Mexican Spiced Chicken with a Tomatillo Salsa. Along with that meal, I had made some Stewed Black Beans and they turned out great, so I wanted to share that recipe with my food blog friends. These were really easy to make and very lowfat. Plus, they are a great vegetarian/vegan dish!

A little over a year ago, my oldest daughter got married and even though she lives locally it was a difficult adjustment for me. I have missed not having my baby girl in the house to talk to and watch over. One of the things I did was to establish a weekly family dinner, so every Sunday evening my daughter and her husband come for dinner. Hey! I love to cook and they love to eat, so everyone is happy! This was something I remember from my childhood. Every Sunday, my mom would have a roast slow cooking in the oven or something simmering in the slow cooker while we were at church and then my older brother and sister, along with their spouses and children, would come over for Sunday dinner. Even my grandma would join us some weeks. It was a great family memory!

While the kids are over on Sunday evenings, we usually have some TV shows that we watch together. I try and get a lot of the cooking done before they arrive, so I can enjoy the visit with them. Loading something into the slow cooker is a great way to do early prep and have something ready to go at dinner time. For this particular dinner, I had a Mexican theme of sorts going, so I thought I would make some beans. I didn’t start with a recipe. I just took a look at the ingredients I had on hand and started throwing stuff in the pot and the beans came out great! I hope you and your family enjoy them as well!

Stewed Black Beans

3 – 15 oz cans black beans, undrained

1/2 – 15 oz can kidney beans (I just had this in my fridge, so threw it in. You could leave it out or add a whole can)

1 – 8 oz can diced green chilies

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 clove garlic, pressed or chopped

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Throw all ingredients in slow cooker pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Chicken Provençal – A Delicious, Low-Fat Dish that Will Impress!

Tags

Chicken, Chicken Provencal, Cooking, crock pot, Food, low-fat, main dish, slow cook

  

I’ve been wanting to blog about Chicken Provençal for a while. It’s another of my all-time favorite dishes that is easy to make, low-fat, delicious and will impress your dinner guests! This is another dish where I started with a recipe I came across years ago and I have made it my own over time.This dish has a bold rich flavor that is a great fall/winter dish to warm you up. It is much like a stew. I like to use this recipe when entertaining, because it’s easy to increase/double the recipe and you can make it ahead of time and slow cook it. You don’t have to cook it all day though. I have also cooked it on the stove top in my dutch oven. You can easily cook it in 1-2 hours this way, but I do feel the flavors develop more fully the longer it is cooked.

I usually serve this dish over pasta or rice, as it is pretty “saucy”. You could also just serve it in a bowl as a soup/stew. This last time I made it, which is shown in the photo, I served it over a creamy parmesan polenta. It was very delicious this way!

I hope you like it!

Chicken Provençal
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts

28 oz can of diced tomatoes in puree

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 large leek, thinly sliced

½ cup red wine

14 oz chicken broth

2 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp salt

5 cloves of garlic, pressed or diced

4 oz can sliced black olives

2 tbsp fresh basil, diced

 

In slow cooker pot, put all ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. After about 5 hours, remove chicken, shred and put back in slow cooker. Serve over pasta, rice or polenta or simply as a stew.

Mexican Style Pinto Beans – A Great Add to Any Barbecue

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4th of July, barbecue, beans, Cooking, Food, Independance Day, July 4th, mexican beans, mexican style beans, pinto beans, recipe, recipes, slow cook, slow cooked beans, slow cooker, slow cooker recipes, summer

  

Since everyone I know will be barbecuing tomorrow in celebraton of July 4th, I thought I would share my awesome bean recipe with you! They are a perfect barbecue side dish and their make-ahead recipe clears up time for more amusing pursuits! My pinto beans are soaking as we speak, in anticipation for their date with the crockpot tomorrow morning!

These beans are really easy to make, low-fat and so very tasty! They are very flavorful as is, but feel free to spice them up by adding additional hot peppers or hot sauce. These are a great add to any barbecue, mexican feast, Super Bowl party, or just any time you want tasty beans!

What goodies are you making for the 4th of July?

Mexican Style Pinto Beans

1 pound pinto beans, sorted for any stones/bad ones and rinsed

1/2 pound turkey bacon (You can leave this out if you’re meat-free or want to cut fat and calories)

1 – 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes in puree

1 – 4 oz. can of diced green chiles

1 onion, chopped (I prefer the flavor of red onions in this dish)

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin (My favorite spice IN THE WORLD!!!! It reminds me of my childhood and the wonderful, exotic aromoas that came out of our Lebanese neighbor’s kitchen. Man that woman could cook!!!)

2-3 crushed & chopped garlic cloves (I use my garlic press here. Love that tool!!!)

3/4 cup cilantro, rinsed, dried and chopped

Salt and pepper to taste (I once heard someone say, “Salt is to food, what breath is to life!” So true!)
Place your rinsed pinto beans in a large pot or bowl and cover the bean with water, enough for 3 inches over. Let them soak overnight.

Drain the beans and place into slow cooker. Pour in enough fresh water to cover the beans. Stir in all ingredients except the cilantro. Cook beans on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.

About 1/2 hour before the beans are due to be done, stir in the chopped cilantro. Continue cooking beans until they are soft. Give them a taste to see if you need to add any more salt and pepper.

I hope you and your family enjoy these beans as much as we do! I make them pretty regularly and they are always a hit. 

Tip: Have a large amount left over? No sweat! These little wonders freeze beautifully!!! So you can enjoy them on a busy night when you don’t have time to cook!