Lunch: Garlic Chicken

The garlic becomes creamy and mellows as it cooks. Spread it on chunks of crusty French baguette and soak up the fabulous sauce as you enjoy every morsel of this super-tender chicken. If you're tight on time, substitute 3 pounds of chicken pieces rather t

Ingredients

1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons cognac
1 (3 1/3-pound) whole chicken, skinned and cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
40 garlic cloves, peeled (about 4 whole heads)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl.
Discard giblets and neck from chicken. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Heat oil and butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until butter melts. Sprinkle chicken pieces evenly with salt and pepper. Add chicken pieces to pan; cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove chicken from pan; place in a 4-quart electric slow cooker.
Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown. Stir in broth mixture, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Boil 2 minutes or until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup. Pour sauce over chicken; sprinkle with thyme. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours or until chicken is done. Serve sauce and garlic with chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.