Coq au Vin

I sort of didn't realize when I jumped into this recipe that it wasn't extremely Weight Watchers friendly (especially when served with mashed potatoes, like I did). It could probably be lowered in points by using chicken breasts rather than thighs, but the chicken thighs really add that extra kick of flavor and texture to this dish (that, and I had a package of them in my freezer that were screaming at me to use them every time I opened the freezer).

The original recipe called for a few slices of bacon, and then you cook the chicken in the bacon grease but I don't care for the flavor of bacon (unless its served alongside some eggs or French toast) so that's where I substituted the oil. If you like bacon, then check out the original recipe.

Serve over mashed potatoes to help soak up all the delicious juices.

2 cups red wine
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 (4-ounce) chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup pitted dried plums, quartered
2 bay leaves

Chicken sangria, anyone?

Combine first 10 ingredients in a large bowl; cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Remove the chicken from marinade, reserving marinade, and pat chicken dry. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken in flour; set aside.

Add 1/2 tablespoon of canola oil to a Dutch oven and place over medium heat. Add half of chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.

Remove onion and carrot from marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving marinade. Add remaining oil to pot and then add onion and carrot to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in marinade, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add chicken, dried plums, and bay leaves; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender. Discard bay leaves.

Yields 6 servings.

WW info:
core - 2 points per serving
flex - 7 points per serving