This recipe is so easy! Give it a try!
I halved and adapted this recipe quite a bit, due to what I had on hand, and it still came out great! So, don't be afraid to tweak recipes to your taste and what you have to cook with :)
First, cook the bacon, set aside on paper towel to drain and cool. Then crumble.
Even though I halved this recipe, I still used the full amount of bacon - we love us some bacon!
Drain all but 1 or 2 tablespoons (depending on how much of the recipe you are cooking - I only needed about 1 tablespoon), and in the same skillet as the bacon, saute the onion on medium heat for a few minutes, until softened.
Add garlic and seasonings and cook for another minute.
Add wine and bring to boil for 2 mins, scraping the bottom and sides while cooking.
Add tomatoes and juice and stir to combine and heat through.
Remove skillet from heat.
Place chicken in crock pot. The original recipe calls for chicken thighs, I only had chicken breast, so in they go! Then sprinkle bacon over chicken and pour tomato/wine sauce on top.
Cover and cook until chicken is tender - 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
Crock Pot Wine and Tomato Braised Chicken
Adapted from Eating Well.
Ingredients: (my variations are in red)
- 4 slices of bacon
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced (1 medium)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon pre-minced garlic)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (Omitted, since I didn't have it on hand)
- 1 cup dry white wine (1/2 cup)
- 1 bay leaf (omitted - but would have loved to use this)
- 1 (28oz) can tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped (14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes)
- salt to taste
- 10 bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed and skin removed (2 medium sized chicken breasts)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley (1 tablespoon or less)
Directions:
- Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble when cool.
- Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, fennel seeds, pepper and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add wine, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. Add tomatoes and their juice and salt; stir well.
- Place chicken thighs in a 4-quart (or larger) slow cooker. Sprinkle the bacon over the chicken. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 3 hours on High or 6 hours on Low. Remove the bay leaf. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
I wasn't sure what to expect, improvising so much with this recipe. But I was pleasantly surprised when it came out so good! Sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches!
If anyone cooks this using the original recipe, I would love to hear how it turns out! Enjoy!
~Lovely Fluffy Mama
