Sweet Red Wine Chicken

Nick (my man) told me that this version of the wine sauce was my best yet! In fact, we had some left over so we had it again the next day. And I still have a couple days worth left. So I think you can probably get 8-10 servings out of the sauce. I have made this several times, just trying to perfect the recipe and I think I finally got it right! It's super simple to make and will leave your dinner companions feeling like they just ate something fancy.

This red wine sauce is sweet and goes great with chicken and mashed potatoes. You can even be fancy and serve the chicken on top of the potatoes :)

For the wine...I use Charles Shaw Cabernet. Yes, "2 buck Chuck." I love cooking with this wine because it is tasty and cheap. BUT...it is also not available everywhere. So find a Cabernet that you like and is on the less expensive side and use that if you don't have access to Chuck.

Ingredients for the Chicken
1/2 bottle Cabernet (you can drink the rest that's the fun part!)
2 cups brown sugar
1 heaping table spoon all purpose flour
Cooked chicken breasts (however many you desire to make)
Mrs. Dash Salt Free Original Blend
Lawry's Season Salt
Black Pepper
Worcestershire sauce

Ingredients for the Mashed Potatoes
1 brown potato per person (they don't need to be too big)
Mrs. Dash
Season Salt
Black pepper
butter (about 1 table spoon per potato used)
Milk

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Next pull out a pot to boil your potatoes in, put some water in it and turn the burner on high. Add some season salt and Mrs. Dash to the water. Potatoes will soak up what they are cooked in and by doing this instead of plain water the potatoes are much tastier! Put the amount of chicken breasts you want to use in a glass baking dish. MAKE SURE TO WASH YOUR HANDS AND ANY SURFACES YOU USE WHEN HANDLING RAW MEAT. I am a stickler about this...food poisoning is NO fun! Next splash on some Worcestershire sause, enough to get the chicken wet and to be sitting in a little of it. Sprinkle black pepper, Mrs. Dash, and season salt to taste. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

While the chicken is baking...peel, wash, and cut up the potatoes. I don't dice them, but I cut them into smaller chunks so they cook faster. Add potatoes to the boiling water and turn heat to medium high. Let them boil until soft. I usually let them boil until the chicken is done baking.

When you have about 15 minutes to go on the chicken, start the wine sauce. Pour the wine into a sauce pan and turn the burner on medium. Add the brown sugar and take a whisk and stir it up so there are no clumps and the brown sugar has dissolved. Whisk in flour again so there are no clumps. Cook the sauce until boiling and you need to stir it a lot! Once boiling for about 5 minutes, turn it off and remove from heat.

Now it's time to mash the potatoes. Drain them using a strainer...do not rinse. Put them in a large mixing bowl and add butter and a few splashes of milk. Add in some more Mrs. Dash and season salt and some black pepper. Using a mixer, mix them up until they are at the desired consistency. Add more milk for smoother potatoes, less for chunkier ones. Taste them and see if they are lacking anything if so...add whatever they are lacking.

By now your chicken should be done...remove it from the oven, put it on a plate with some potatoes and pour a generous amount of wine sauce. You can have what ever veggie you desire or make a simple salad like I did (tip...I used a bag salad). :)

Cheers!
CC