Dish #1 Braised Chicken Stew in Dutch Oven

I bought an issue of the Food Network magazine simply because I couldn't resist the photo on its cover of a delicious looking "one-eyed toast" and strips of perfectly cooked bacon. I had to have it! As I was reading it I came across this equally delicious looking pot of Beer-Braised Chicken and decided to make an adaptation of it with slightly different ingredients. I don't really like using beer because I don't like its taste. Actually, I tried this recipe almost exactly and it came out terrible mid-way because of the beer and mustard, so I changed it up and here's what I did.

Ingredients:

3 slices extra thick cut bacon cut in 1/2 inch pieces
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in half
salt and pepper
flour for dredging chicken
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup pearl onions, fresh or frozen
1/2 pound small baby potatoes cut in half
3 sprigs thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2-3 tablespoons chicken/beef stock powder
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 can stewed tomatoes (I used sliced)
1 lemon wedge juice
1/2 cup white wine
some water to cover the pot

1. Cook the bacon pieces in a dutch oven/crock pot like from Le Creuset* on stove until browned. Remove bacon and set aside and leave the grease.
2. Clean and dry each chicken piece. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour.
3. In another non-stick pan, sear the chicken with olive oil on both sides until browned then return to crock pot with bacon grease and cook for a few more seconds. (I found this to be better because the chicken was sticking to the crock pot.)
4. Add wine, onions, potatoes, thyme, sugar, water just so that it covers the ingredients.
5. Stir in stock powder and can of stewed tomatoes.
6. Let simmer of 15 minutes, then add in parsley, bacon, lemon juice.
7. Put the pot in the oven at 375 F for about 20 minutes. Season more to taste if you like, then remove from oven when the potatoes are cooked to your liking. Discard thyme stems.
You can also add some cooked macaroni to your bowl just before serving. It's delicious!


*I know those wonderful Le Creuset pots are too expensive for a lot of people (especially a student like me) but I found mine at the Cost Plus World Market for about $20, so you can find one for a reasonable price out there too.