Smothered Chicken and Veggies

I try to stay away from fried foods as much as possible, though I do succumb from time to time. Not today. Here is my recipe for smothered chicken in au jus gravy, brown rice, green beans, and honey glazed carrots.

Smothered Chicken and Veggies

Ingredients:
1 five pound bag of chicken wing parts
1 bell pepper
2 medium onions
1 cup of brown rice
4 cans of cut green beans
2 cans of sliced carrots
Extra virgin olive oil
Olive oil spray
Honey

Mrs. Dash Table Blend

Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb

Garlic Powder

Black Pepper

Green Beans

Today's veggies are green beans and carrots. I'm starting with my green beans so that they can take their time and cook. I usually start them off at a medium heat to get them boiling, then lower it in about half an hour and let them simmer until everything else is finished. But first, I put around a tablespoon of olive oil into my stockpot or enough to cover the bottom. Once it heats up I drop in my diced onion and saute them until they are clear. I immediately pour in the cans of green beans. I let them cook with the top off until I lower the heat; I then cover them, but not completely, leaving a small gap for some steam to escape in order to avoid boiling over. I season with Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb after about an hour into cooking.

Chicken
I will normally use wings, wing parts, and/or drumsticks for smothering. I decided to use the wing parts for this meal since they were already in the freezer.

I turn my oven on to 350 degrees, wash my chicken, and then season them with Mrs. Dash Table Blend, black pepper, and garlic powder. I spray my 2 quart Corningware saucepan with olive oil and placed the chicken inside, then into the oven uncovered until it starts to brown. I flip them over and let the other side brown; both sides takes around 20 minutes. Once both sides have browned I remove the pan from the oven and add the sliced onion and bell pepper and a cup of water, then cover it and put it back in the oven. If the water gets too low before the chicken is ready to fall off the bone, add a little more as this is your au jus ("with its own juice"). The chicken should be ready in another 45 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, I put on my brown rice so that it's ready around the same time.

Carrots
I prefer using a bag of baby carrots for this, but I didn't have any; I did have a couple of cans of carrots though and they work well.

I pour the carrots, juice and all into my stainless steel skillet and bring it to a boil. The canned carrots cook much faster than the fresh ones, so you don't need to cook them long; 10 minutes is good. You then want to pour off the water and saute the carrots in about a teaspoon of olive oil for about a minute, then add in a tablespoon (more or less) of honey. After about another minute or two the honey will be absorbed and the carrots will begin to have a glazed look to them. Their done, and so is your meal!

Enjoy!