Paula's Chili Pepper Chicken - 2 Days

We've been having some serious fall-like weather in New Jersey already and I have been in the mood to heat up my kitchen and bring those yummy cooking smells back inside.  When I saw Paula's recipe for Braised Chicken with Chili Pepper, I thought it sounded like a good idea.  And it was, the sauce alone infused my entire first floor with the smells of fall cooking and set my mouth to watering.

I modified her recipe slightly as I wanted to cook a whole roaster and truly have no idea how to cut a whole chicken into pieces, AND I'm too lazy and crazed to do that on a weeknight anyway.

Here's what I used:

1 whole chicken
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced
2 red chili peppers, seeded and minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup white wine
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 cup chicken stock
olive oil, for pan
salt
ground pepper

Heat oven to 375.  Heat olive oil in your dutch oven.  Stir in garlic and onion and saute for about 5 minutes on low heat.  Add the chili pepper, tomato paste, salt, pepper and wine.  Stir to combine.

Place chicken in pot breast side down and place in the rosemary.  Allow to braise for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, flip that bird and pour in the chicken stock.  Cover and cook in oven until done.  About 1 hour.  Shhhh, I used a Perdue bird with one of those pop up timers.  The Mr. only likes Bell & Evans organic, and I prefer those as well, but this was on sale at ShopRite for such a good price, I couldn't pass it up.

Remove chicken to serving dish and whisk remaining sauce in the pot.  Pour oven chicken.  Hello, hot steaming deliciousness.  Dinner is served!  Really, all you need are your fingers and a nice piece of fresh bread for sauce sopping here.  But, I served it with peas and onions and opted for silverware and plates (this time).

This chicken comes out so moist and the sauce is very tasty.  I imagine it would work with other meats or as a sauce for a pasta and veggie dish.  Another literally finger-licking good dish courtesy of Paula.  Check out my adaptation of her figgy sausage recipe here.

The next day we used this delicious chicken in a little "clean the fridge" casserole.  And then the following day I had it for lunch too.  Gotta love how many meals you can get out of a cheap supermarket roaster!

2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup vegetable stock
left over chicken, shredded
1 cup cooked peas with onions
1 cup low fat sharp cheddar, shredded
salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste
cumin, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste

Heat oven to 350.  Layer all ingredients, except cheese and spiced, into casserole pan.  Stir to combine.  Top with cheese and spices.  Cook until cheese is bubbly and chicken and rice are warmed through.  The cumin in this casserole will make the kitchen smell divine.

Kid review:  We got a thumbs up on both recipes!