SAVORY BRAISED CHICKEN...A Slow Cooker Recipe From Sweet Basil

For a weeknight meal, prepare Steps 1 & 2, cover and refrigerate bacon and sauce separately the night before. Place in the crockpot as you're drinking your morning coffee, and it's ready that evening. Serve over pasta for a fabulous meal!

INGREDIENTS

▪4 slices bacon (turkey bacon works well!)

▪1 large onion, thinly sliced

▪4 cloves garlic, minced

▪2 tsp. fresh or dried sage, crumbled 

▪1 tsp. fresh or dried basil, chopped

▪1 tsp. fresh or dried thyme, chopped

▪1 tsp. fennel seeds

▪1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

▪1 bay leaf, chopped

▪1 cup Holland House white cooking wine

▪about 2 lbs. of fresh tomatoes, or a 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped

▪1 teaspoon salt

▪10 bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 3/4 pounds), skin removed, trimmed

▪1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble when cool.
2. 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.
3. 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. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Enjoy!

Follow us, like us, share us. We are Sweet Basil Farm & Gardens on Facebook... Look for us on Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram, Google+ and Twitter. We are a local Middle Georgia producer of farm fresh fruits and vegetables and members of the American Poultry Association, licensed by the Georgia Dept. of Agriculture as Poultry Dealers and Brokers, and a proud member of the Georgia Grown program, a division of the Georgia Dept. of Agriculture. We also breed, sell and ship poultry, pet pigs, bearded irises and much more. We have an 80 acre working farm, with great emphasis on all natural gardening and livestock management practices. An 1840's general store is situated on our property, and serves as our on-site farmer’s market. We have a large vegetable and herb garden, fruit orchards and more. Conveniently located off of Interstate 75 near the Johnstonville Rd exit (#193). We are six miles west, located in Barnesville, Lamar County, Georgia.

Recipe post by Tisha Johnson Matthews, of Sweet Basil Farm & Gardens. Recipe courtesy of Tisha Johnson Matthews, Sweet Basil Farms, with photo courtesy of kitchen daily. Special thanks to J. David Matthews, of Barnesville, Georgia for support and patience with all that I try and test.