Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetables with White Wine Sauce

Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetables with White Wine Sauce: (recipe courtesy of Kristen Zaks)

4 med red potatoes, quartered

4 med carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small onion sliced

3 lbs bone in chicken thighs or drumsticks, skinned

1 tablespoon snipped flat leaf parsley

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 c reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2  c dry white wine

3 tablespoons butter (I used 1 tablespoon of Smart Balance)

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1. In a 5-6 q slow cooker, combine potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.  Place chicken on top of vegetables.  Sprinkle with parsley, garlic, salt, rosemary, thyme, and pepper.  Pour broth and wine over mixture in cooker.

2.  Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and vegetables to serving plate.  Cover with foil to keep warm.

4.  For sauce, strain liquid.  In a large saucepan, heat butter until melted.  Whisk in flour, cook for 1 minute.  Add cooking liquid.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Cook and stir for 1 min more.

5.  Serve chicken with vegetables and pour gravy over as desired.

NOTES:  This is hearty, healthy, and perfect for a cold winter's day.  The chicken ends up being fall off the bone tender.  I had fresh thyme and rosemary in the freezer (I do realize that fresh frozen is an oxymoron!) so I used a very large handful of those rather than the dried herbs.  In the words of a friend of mine in the restaurant business, "Why wouldn't you want to add more deliciousness to your food?"  - Claire Calvin  I realized that I forgot the parsley two days later when I was looking for cilantro for another recipe and saw my parsley still hanging out in the crisper...it would just add more flavor to this already yummy recipe.  This recipe is a meal in and of itself.  You can certainly serve it without the gravy, but it is even more tasty with that luscious gravy drizzled over top.

Happy Cooking!