A Sunday quick meal. In the a.m., brown the chicken and add to a slow cooker. Simmer wine in the same skillet as the chicken and pour into slow cooker. Dump the rest of the ingredients in a slow cooker. Enjoy a warm Fall day of football, museums, visiting friends, coffee shop, working, talking, shopping, laughing and partying. Come back in the p.m. Quickly make a salad. Open a bottle of wine. Remove lid from slow cooker. Serve yourself a hearty stew. Be in bed in the early p.m. Wake up to a good work week tomorrow a.m.

Chicken Stew

4 to 6 servings.
From Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 chicken, 3 to 4 lb., cut into 8 serving pieces
• 3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 yellow medium onion, thickly sliced
• 8 oz. white button mushrooms; trim and discard stems, quartered cut
• 1 lb. red-skinned potatoes; not peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme wrapped in twine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1-1/2 c. white wine

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat evenly.
2. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm half of the olive oil until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a slow cooker. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken. Add the bacon, onion, mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and stock to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
3. Remove the sauté pan from the heat, pour the wine into the pan and return to medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the pan bottom. Add the wine to the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 5 hours according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Spoon the stew into bowls and serve immediately.