My son loves this recipe and so do I, but then I love anything that involves wine. After adding the wine I usually end up pouring myself a glass but since this takes a good 45 minutes or so I end up drinking the whole bottle.... I'm such a lush. Traditionally this dish is made from an old rooster because it was a cheap meat and this was considered to be a peasant dish. It's fairly cheep to make even now but the one thing I wouldn't do is skimp on the wine. I use burgundy and that's how I like it the best but I've used Zinfandel from California and it's turned out alright.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb bacon slices
20 pearl onions, peeled, or 1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 chicken, 4 lb, cut into serving pieces, or 3 lbs chicken parts, excess fat trimmed, skin ON
6 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups red wine (pinot noir, burgundy, or zinfandel)
2 bay leaves
Several fresh thyme sprigs
Several fresh parsley sprigs
1/2 lb button mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp butter
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
METHOD
1 Blanch the bacon to remove some of its saltiness. Drop the bacon into a saucepan of cold water, covered by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, drain. Rinse in cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Cut the bacon into 1 inch by 1/4 inch pieces.
2 Brown bacon on medium high heat in a dutch oven big enough to hold the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon, set aside. Keep the bacon fat in the pan. Add onions and chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken well, on all sides, about 10 minutes. Halfway through the browning, add the garlic and sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. (Note: it is best to add salt while cooking, not just at the very end. It brings out the flavor of the chicken.)
3 Spoon off any excess fat. Add the chicken stock, wine, and herbs. Add back the bacon. Lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken and onions to a separate platter. Remove the bay leaves, herb sprigs, garlic, and discard.
4 Add mushrooms to the remaining liquid and turn the heat to high. Boil quickly and reduce the liquid by three fourths until it becomes thick and saucy. Lower the heat, stir in the butter. Return the chicken and onions to the pan to reheat and coat with sauce. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Serves 4. Serve with potatoes or over egg noodles.

Today we wanted something light and easy so when I asked the husband what he wanted he said grilled chicken. Easy enough. Looking in the fridge for anything to go with the grilled chicken and I see spinach, red bell pepper, tomatoes, and lemons. I checked to see what pasta I had and found rotini. This was going to be the best grilled chicken ever.

2 chicken breasts
3 vine tomatoes
1 roasted red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
3 cups spinach
3 tablespoons fresh basil
6 oz black olives (preferably pitted Kalamata)
6 oz feta cheese
14 oz rotini pasta
1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Mediterranean oregano
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Start Cooking the pasta according to the directions. Then flatten the chicken and season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Heat pan with olive oil and cook chicken.


Rinse spinach and set aside. Cut tomatoes, red bell pepper and chop the garlic and basil.


When the chicken is almost done add the spinach and tomatoes. You want to just warm the tomatoes and have the spinach wilted, about three minutes.


When pasta is done drain and put it into a nice size bowl. Add the olives, feta cheese, basil, and red bell pepper to the pasta. Take the chicken out of the pan and cut into bite size pieces. Add chicken, tomatoes, and spinach to the pasta then add the juice of one lemon. Mix all together and serve. You can add more salt and pepper to taste.

I don't watch Rachael as a rule. Not because she doesn't cook great food but more for the fact that she is annoying. When she calls Extra Virgin olive oil EVOO it just drives me bezerk. I know some people find it cute and endearing but I think it's pure laziness that she does this. The morning she was making this recipe I was channel surfing and it caught my attention. I had all the ingredients and was excited to try something new and I was happy I did. Although I didn't have saffron because that stuff is expensive and I just can't justify paying 16 dollars for something I never use. I ended up using a little turmeric for this recipe. I didn't really measure. I just added a little at a time until I got the right taste. I did add just a little paprika for color.

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and ground black pepper
48 green beans or enough to fill your chicken bundles
2 large red bell peppers, cut into about 30 strips the size of the green beans
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup of chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup cream

Preparation
Budget tip from Rach: Halve the chicken breasts horizontally separating each into 2 cutlets. (Some markets sell “thin cut” chicken for a premium price but with a sharp knife, cutting the chicken breast yourself is easy, so why not save yourself some money!) Place each halved cutlet in an individual freezer plastic storage bag with a slider tab. Add a tablespoon of water to each baggie and pound them into thin cutlets. The baggies can now be stacked and frozen for future use. Each portion will thaw in minutes and ready to use for dinner any night of the week. Plus, by halving and pounding out the breast meat, you’re stretching your dollar and the meat to provide twice as many portions.

For this recipe, arrange 4 cutlets pounded to 1/8 of an inch thick on work surface. Season the cutlets with salt and pepper on one side then lay about 6 or 7 green beans and 4 or 5 red pepper strips in the center, with the ends sticking out. Fold the bottom half of the chicken up around the bundle then roll the two ends around so it looks like a little package with green beans and red pepper sticking out. Season the outside of the chicken with salt and ground black pepper.


In a large, nonstick skillet with two turns of the pan of olive oil over medium-high heat, cook the stuffed cutlets seam side-down. Cook about 7-8 minutes, then turn to brown the other side. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and reserve.


To the pan, add the saffron and ginger then pour in the chicken stock and bring up to a bubble. Stir in the cream and heat through.