Braised Chicken

Looking for a great meal that's impressive enough for company but can be a weeknight supper (like this one was for us tonight)? Here it is! This meal is high in protein and fiber, while being low in fat and calories. A great healing meal.

Braised Chicken

Ingredients:

3 pounds of bone-in chicken legs and thighs (or 1.3-1.5 pounds of boneless chicken thighs)

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 1/2 c of onions (1 large onion) chopped

1 cup of celery, chopped

1 c of carrots, chopped

1 cup of mushrooms

1 green pepper

1/2-1  tsp salt

3 cups of tomatoes (or can use a 28oz can of stewed tomatoes)

1 c of dry red wine

1 cup of water or broth

1 tbsp garlic

Fresh basil to top off after
Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Add 1 tbsp pill to pan and sear chicken on both sides until browned, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from pan. If using boneless/skinless thighs, cook for 1-2 minutes.

2) Pour off all but 1tbsp drippings, if more than that.  If skin stuck in pan then remove to cut down on fat.  If you'd like to remove more fat, de-skin chicken.

3) Sauté onions, carrots, celery, pepper, & mushrooms

4) Add tomatoes & salt sauté for 2 minutes

5) Adds stock, wine, garlic, and return chicken to pot

6) Place into oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until cooking liquid cooks down (chicken should reach 145 degrees).

7) Stir in fresh basil, additional salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over rice. 

**We had a large bowl of sauce left.  Great for a next day soup!

Benefits of Tomatoes: High in Lycopene, an anti-oxidant that prevents cancer
Benefits of Peppers: High in Vitamin C, promotes healing and disease prevention (199% of daily needs!-1 cup has more than 2x's the amounts of an orange)

Benefits of Garlic: Anti-inflammatory and aids in blood circulation/cardiovascular health

Benefits of Carrots: High in fiber, high in Vitamin A: beta carotene, which is an anti-oxidant that prevents cancer, healthy immune system and promotes cell growth/tissue repair (1 cup has 308% of your daily Vitamin A needs)

Benefits of Mushrooms: High in protein and low in calories

Benefits of Chicken: Low in fat, high in protein, helps to repair and rebuild tissues

Nutritional Information in Entire Dish

Tomatoes: 

Calories: 97

Carbs: 21g

Fiber: 6.5 g  

Potassium: 1280mg

Vitamin C: 114%

Vitamin A: 90%

Onions:

Calories: 101

Carbs: 24g

Fiber: 3.4g

Protein: 2.2g

Potassium: 346mg

Vitamin C: 26%

Carrots:

Calories: 52

Carbs: 12.3 g

Fiber: 3.6g

Protein: 1.2g

Fat: 0g

Vitamin A: 308% of daily value

Mushrooms:

Calories: 15

Carbs: 2.3g

Fiber: .8g

Protein: 2.2g

Fat: 0g

Peppers:

Calories: 30

Carbs: 7g

Fiber: 2.5g

Protein: 1.3g

Fat: 0g

Vitamin C: 199.7%

Chicken Thighs (1.3 #s)-boneless and skinless

Calories: 750

Fat: 40g

Carbohydrates: 0g

Protein: 100g

Fiber: 0%

Iron: 30%

Olive Oil:

Calories: 120

Fat: 14g

*nutrition values from: My fitness pal