SANGRIA CHICKEN

Steps:

• 1. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can do it up full fat & sugar, or modify it as needed. Unsalted Butter can be replaced with a couple of drops of butter flavoring. And the seedless jam can be replaced with a full cup of pure, fresh, pulverized and strained berries, sweetened with a couple of packets of stevia, or other zero calorie sweetener. Be careful with this, though, as some sweeteners lose their sweetness when heated up. I used blackberry jam when I made this.
• 2. Wash & pat dry the chicken breasts. Salt & Pepper on both sides, set aside in the refrigerator. If you're a think ahead type, you can marinade them in a mixture of the sangria and jam at this point overnight. I don't think that far ahead, usually.
• 3. Finely chop the shallots and cilantro, separately - set aside. You should have about a cup of each.
• 4. Cut up the potatoes and carrots into large chunky pieces (About the size of two bites each), set aside.
• 5. Finely chop the chipotle peppers in adobo, set aside.
• 6. Spray a pan with non-stick spray, (or if you don't mind the extra calories, use some clarified butter)
• 7. Saute the shallots, potatoes and carrots over medium high heat for a couple of minutes until the shallots are semi-transparent.
• 8. Add enough water to not quite cover, gently stir in the teaspoon of chicken base (I use the low sodium version of "Better than Boullion"), and turn the heat to high. You want the potatoes and carrots to be halfway cooked through before adding the chicken. Boil away most of the water until what is left is thick and bubbly, but not burned.
• 9. Pour in the sangria and gently stir in the jam or fruit puree and chipotle peppers. Add half the cilantro. Bring to a boil.
• 10. Check the potatoes and carrots for your version of doneness. This depends on how small you cut them up and how you like your carrots and potatoes. If they're done to your taste, remove them with a slotted spoon to the serving dish and set aside. If not, they can stay in while the chicken poaches.
• 11. Reduce heat to low and add the chicken breasts. Cover, and let poach 7 minutes. Turn the breasts over and cook another 3 to 5 minutes or until the juices run clear and the breasts don't give much when you press down on them with a spatula.
• 12. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil and let them rest.
• 13. Scoop the potatoes and carrots into a serving dish with a slotted spoon (assuming they're cooked to your liking at this point).
• 14. Turn the heat to medium-high, and reduce the remaining liquid until it just coats the back of a spoon.
• 15. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
• 16. Place the chicken breasts on top of the potatoes and carrots, and pour the sauce over all.
• 17. Sprinkle with remaining fresh cilantro.
• 18. There are several ways you can swing this recipe. You can 86 the potatoes and carrots, and use a tablespoon of cornstarch in a little water as a thickener (the potato starch thickens the sauce). Then you just have chicken breasts that you can serve over rice. Or you can shred the chicken breasts after they've rested and mix them well with the reduced sauce and serve as the filling for soft tacos - garnish with shredded lettuce, mexican style cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, thinly sliced avocado, chopped fresh jalapenos, chopped fresh onion or scallions, and chopped fresh cilantro. Or use the shredded version as a pizza topping with goat cheese underneath. Or, you can blend together all of the wet ingredients (except the water) plus the shallots, chipotle peppers, and cilantro, marinade the breasts overnight, and then grill them over slow charcoals while basting the chicken with the marinade. In any case, have fun, and enjoy!