The Crock Pot is back in action and this is a good one!

I mean, could anything slow cooked in wine for 6 hours really be bad? Wine makes everything better!

There were tons of delicious flavors going on in this dish, and the chicken was super tender and just fell off the bone. The egg noodles were the perfect compliment, soaking up all the yummy juices.

Crock Pot Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken

(adapted from Eating Well)

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 (28 oz) can tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 10 bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 3/4 pounds), skin removed, trimmed
• 1 bag wide egg noodles, cooked, for serving
•  Shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble when cool.

Drain off all but 2 tbsp fat from the pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, fennel seeds, pepper and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add wine, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. Add tomatoes and their juice and salt, and stir well.

Place chicken thighs in the bottom of a slow cooker. Sprinkle the bacon over the chicken. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken.

Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 3 hours on High or 6 hours on Low.

Serve over egg noodles, sprinkled with Parmesan.