Coq au Vin

We had a date night to a super delicious French restaurant the other night. I believe duck on a menu cannot be bypassed. I saw coq au vin on the specials and while I didn’t order it, it reminded me to make it. I also wanted to simplify it. It is a traditional and a peasant dish for the French. Any meat cooked until really tender in wine is the perfect comfort for a cool or rainy day.
The Three Bite Rule - Coq Au Vin
I made it in the pressure cooker (in 10 minutes), but it’d be good on the stove if you have a little more time (~40 minutes).

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon, chopped
4 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut into 6 pieces
3 carrots, pealed & chopped
2 cups pearl onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 red wine
1 pint of portabella mushrooms (& tablespoon of butter)
2/3 cup marsala wine or cooking sherry
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour

Directions:

Pan fry the bacon in a large skillet or dutch oven until crisp. Then spoon onto a paper towel and leave the bacon drippings in the pan.
Then brown the chicken on each side.
The Three Bite Rule - Coq Au Vin
Then add the chicken, bacon, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme, chicken broth, and wine into a pressure cooker (or crockpot, or into the dutch oven).
The Three Bite Rule - Coq Au Vin
In a pressure cooker, cook on high for 10 minutes.
In a crockpot, cook for 2 hours on high.
In a dutch oven, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
While the chicken cooks, saute the mushrooms in a little butter to brown.
The Three Bite Rule - Coq Au Vin
Then add in the marsala/sherry to deglaze, scraping off the brown bits at the bottom.
Mash together the 2 tablespoons of butter with the 2 tablespoons of flour & add to the mushrooms. Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Coq Au Vin
Add the chicken/onion/carrot mixture into the mushrooms and a few spoonfuls of the wine/broth. Cook for 5 minutes over a low simmer.
Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
The Three Bite Rule - Coq Au Vin
I loved it. The chicken got purple-y from the wine. I don’t know how the pros avoid that, but there was so much flavor in this, I was happy to look past it. My mom makes it with white wine, which is delicious too.

Make this…just don’t use chicken breast. Don’t do it. If you do, you’ll be sad when the chicken is stringy and isn’t juicy. This is also a great use if you have old-ish wine open, or a wine you don’t love. The sauce is delightfully flavored and I liked the mushrooms to thicken the sauce just a tiny bit. Voila!

Crispy Chicken & Brussels Sprouts Slaw Wraps

I used these brussels sprouts as a slaw with apples, to go on a wrap with crispy chicken and buttermilk ranch. It was delightfully autumn-inspired for an unseasonably warm weekday that I wanted a speedy dinner that was a bit more unusual than the norm.

The Three Bite Rule - Brussels Slaw with Apple & Crispy Chicken
We tend to have big tortillas around because believe it or not, the almost-2 year old will eat a whole one as a quesadilla. The chicken was living a happy life in the freezer and only the apple and brussels were fresh. Voila! Dinner!

Ingredients: (for 2 wraps)

2 crispy chicken tenders
~6 brussels sprouts
1/2 apple
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
2 burrito-sized tortillas
3 tablespoons buttermilk ranch dressing

Directions:

Cook the chicken according to the package…some are raw and need to get fully cooked, others come fully cooked and just need to be heated and warmed through.
In a bowl, whisk together mustard, apple cider vinegar, and honey. Slice the bottoms of the brussels sprouts, then finely chop them into slivers and add to the dressing. Slice the apple and add that in as well.
The Three Bite Rule - Brussels Slaw with Apple & Crispy Chicken
Let the slaw sit in the dressing, stirred occasionally, for 10 minutes while everything else preps.
Slice the chicken and let cool just a bit.
Lay the wrap out, then top with slaw, chicken, and a drizzle of ranch.
The Three Bite Rule - Brussels Slaw with Apple & Crispy Chicken
Fold the “ends” in, then start to wrap with the end closest to you folding over the filling. slowly roll it and tuck the “ends” into the middle to keep everything inside.
Add two toothpicks, slice between them, and enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Brussels Slaw with Apple & Crispy Chicken
The apple is awesome in there. I was interested to try the brussels sprouts raw. I’m not sure how I felt about it. It was pretty good. I did really love the mustard-y slaw dressing with the apple and then the crispy chicken. Overall it was a win in my book!

Chicken & Golden Mushroom Crockpot Dinner, Lightened

My crockpot got more of a workout in a few days than it has in a while. Mr. J made a cashew chicken that was great, though needs a tweak for next time. Stay tuned. I saw a chicken and golden mushroom recipe and thought I could lighten it the tiniest bit without sacrificing anything. Here it is, I loved it! It was good as leftovers and the babe liked it a lot.

Have you used golden mushroom soup? It is more like a thicker broth than a cream of mushroom. It can be hard to find. Find some. Stock up. Freeze some and use it the next time you need veggie broth.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken & Golden Mushroom Lightened Up
Lightened up & adapted from Slow-Cooker Golden Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound baby portabella mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
6 chicken tenders
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/4 cup cream cheese with chives
1 packet Italian Dressing mix
fresh cracked pepper
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 cups baby arugula

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, add butter and mushrooms to cook for about 5 minutes. Stir well to golden brown and until the liquid all evaporates.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken & Golden Mushroom Lightened Up
Cut the chicken into cubes.
In a large bowl, mix together the broth, water, golden mushroom soup, cream cheese, Italian Dressing, and cracked pepper.
Spray a slow cooker with non-stick spray then add in the chicken, the mushrooms, and the sauce.
Turn to low for 4-5 hours.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken & Golden Mushroom Lightened Up
To serve, boil salted water for the pasta. Add the arugula into the crockpot and stir over low/warming for about 5 minutes to wilt.
Cook the pasta to al dente.
Serve the chicken, mushrooms, & sauce over the pasta. Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken & Golden Mushroom Lightened Up
The original had 2x as much soup, 4x as much creamed cheese, 3x as much chicken, and no greens. Mine still had plenty of flavor, creaminess, and tender chicken. The arugula is peppery and adds a nicer crunch than parsley would be.

Easy, Cheesy Polenta with Meatballs

Polenta is the ingredient I always forget will provide the variety to a weeknight meal we all need. Rice takes forever. Pasta seems overdone. Polenta? Yeah polenta cooks in just a few minutes. I like it soupy to be spoon-able. I used pre-cooked turkey meatballs, zucchini and a really quick sauce. Poof! Dinner!

The Three Bite Rule - Easy Cheesy Polenta

Ingredients:

6 meatballs
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup dried polenta
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup gruyere cheese,  shredded or chopped
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the zucchini and tomato paste to cook for about 4 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Easy Cheesy Polenta
Add in the meatballs, 1 cup of the broth, and salt & pepper. Bring to a low boil and cook for about 8 minutes until broth reduces a bit.
The Three Bite Rule - Easy Cheesy Polenta
In a medium pot, add the polenta, butter, 1 cup of broth, 1 cup water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and stir in the milk and cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Easy Cheesy Polenta
Spoon polenta in to the bowls, then top with meatballs, zucchini, and the sauce.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Easy Cheesy Polenta

BBQ Chicken Pizza Transformed

BBQ Chicken Pizza isn’t new or different BUT barbecue sauce in the tomato sauce woke this up! It was so flavorful with a sense of mystery. Where’s all that smokey sweetness coming from? Boom! I’ve made barbecue chicken pizza before but this new one is better!

The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Pizza Transformed

Ingredients:

pizza dough
2 chicken thighs
1 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar
1/4 red onion

Directions:

Preheat the oven (and pizza stone, if using one) to 400-degrees and grill the chicken.
Roll out the dough and stretch it onto the pizza stone (or pan sprayed with non-stick spray) and slice a few slits to prevent bubbles. Bake for 15-minutes until lightly browned.
Warm tomato sauce with most of the BBQ sauce, reserving about 3 tablespoons for the topping. Stir well.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Pizza Transformed
Over medium heat, saute red onion for about 3 minutes to soften slightly but maintain a slight crunch.
Spoon the sauce onto the dough and top with shredded cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Pizza Transformed
Slice the chicken and add on top of the pizza with the onion.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Pizza Transformed
Bake for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese and finish crisping the crust.
Swirl the remaining BBQ sauce over the top.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Pizza Transformed
Slice and enjoy!

It is definitely a sweet one from the BBQ sauce but with a nice smokey flavor from the sauce and the grilled chicken. I especially like these flavors as prime grilling season sort of wraps up. Plus the leftovers are so good.

The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Pizza Transformed