Baked Chicken & Vermicelli

The goal this weekend was to finish off various open bottles in my fridge, in preparation for Passover cleaning.  The bottles I decided on were BBQ sauce, red wine, tomato sauce, and Italian dressing.  I also had some sliced red onion and sliced tomatoes that needed to go, as well as 4 chicken drumsticks, and half a box of vermicelli.  After some creative thinking, I ended up with Baked Chicken & Vermicelli (using red wine, tomato sauce, red onion, tomato, chicken legs, and vermicelli), BBQ baked beans (BBQ sauce), and salad (Italian dressing).

I first offered Henry the Chicken & Vermicelli, which he loved!  He kept saying, "chicken, noo-noos!" over and over as he figured out how to get forkfuls of both at the same time.  I then offered him the BBQ baked beans, which he flat out refused.  He'll eat beans in stews, but beans on their own just do not appeal to him.  And then I forgot to offer him salad (which he generally won't eat except for a bite or two of lettuce).  I was pretty pleased with his reaction to the Chicken & Vermicelli though, and even more pleased when my husband told me how much he loved it.  I guess I'll have to make it even when I'm not just trying to get rid of things in my fridge!

Chicken & Vermicelli
2 tsp olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced
4 chicken legs
3/4 cup red wine
1 cup tomato sauce
8 ounces vermicelli, broken in half (or smaller)
3 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups water with 3 tsp chicken consomme powder)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350.
2.  In a large saute pan, saute red onion and garlic in olive oil, until softened.  Add tomatoes, and saute 1 minute longer.  Add chicken legs and cook about 5 minutes more.
3.  Pour in red wine to deglaze the pan.  Then add the tomato sauce.  Simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes.
4.  Add the vermicelli, chicken broth, salt, and pepper.  Put in the oven, uncovered, for about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Happy and (mostly) healthy eating!