Beer Braised Chicken

I am WAY too full. Tonight I made a new recipe and it was much better then I could ever have thought. So... I ate too much.

But as I promised some of my followers... here is the recipe. It actually tasted a lot like a chicken "pot roast". Very rich and flavorful. I served this with some french bread to soak up the juices. Hope everyone enjoys!

Beer Braised Chicken (adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (preferably brown ale)
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 4 medium sized carrots, sliced
  
• 3/4 pound red-skinned potatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
  
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add the bacon and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.

Add the olive oil to the drippings in the pot. Add the chicken in batches and cook over medium-high heat until golden on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes, then flip and sear the other side, about 1 minute.

Add the beer, onions, potatoes, mustard, sugar, thyme and 1 cup water to the pot and stir, making sure the chicken is fully submerged.

Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Discard the thyme and stir in the bacon and parsley.

Parmesan Chicken with Pasta Fresca

This was good, simple, and very light. As some of my readers know, I can not have a lot of tomato due to medical issues. Fresh tomatoes do not seem to cause the same issues as canned or sauces so I try to use those whenever possible. I found this through Southern Plate and it was really good.

Parmesan Chicken with Pasta Fresca

Pasta
-1 box penne pasta
-1/2C baby spinach
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2C cherry tomatoes, halved
-1/2 red onion, large dice
-Fresh cracked pepper
-1/8C white wine
-1/8C balsamic vinegar
-1/4C EVOO

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a measuring cup, mix the white wine, balsamic vinegar, EVOO, and 1 clove of garlic.

In a saute pan, heat 2 tbl olive oil and saute remaining garlic and the onion until tender.

Add pasta and cherry tomatoes and cook until the pasta is seared.

Rewisk sauce and add to the pasta along with the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted.

Parmesan Chicken
-4 thinly sliced chicken breats
-2C all purpose flour
-1C plain bread crumbs
-Italian Seasoning
-Parmesan Cheese
-Black pepper
-1C cream
-Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350.

Put 1C flour in a bowl. Put the other cup of flour, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, and pepper in another bowl. Put the cream in a third bowl.

Dip the chicken into the plain flour, then the cream, and finally the breadcrumb mixture.

Using a large, nonstick pan heat the oil until hot. Pan fry the chicken until brown and crispy.

Place the fried chicken into a baking dish and bake in the preheated over 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve the chicken sliced on top of the pasta and sprinkle with more parmesan.