Sunday Night Dinner - Baked Chicken Legs

Earlier this summer we purchased a freezer pack of meat from Two Rivers Specialty Meats in North Vancouver. It was part of a fundraiser in support of Potluck Cafe Society, a Social Enterprise whose mission is to 'transform lives by creating jobs and providing healthy food for people living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside'. It's a great organization and we were happy to support it, and even happier when we started using all of the great local meat we had purchased. Among the sausage, pork chops, bacon and ground beef there were chicken legs. I had never really cooked chicken legs and the first time we decided to just throw them on the BBQ. It would be an understatement to say that neither of us were too happy with them, and I thought, well, what am I going to do with the remaining 2 packs?

Luckily for us, I recently purchased Michael Smith's Family Meals cookbook. I kept thinking, maybe I'll put this on my Christmas wish list, but I just couldn't resist when it was 50% online, so I snapped it up. When it arrived I knew it was a good purchase. The book is full of tips for making cooking and eating more of a family affair, as well as great hints on quick snacks and meals for the whole family. I decided that in order to ensure this was indeed a good purchase, I would try and cook a new item each week from the book. This week I chose the 'Slow-Baked Chicken Legs with Barbecue Flavours'. Wow, it was such an easy dish, and I think we will definitely be making it again. This is a weekend dish, as it does take 3 hours to slow-bake, but it was so worth it. Plus it gave me a new appreciation for chicken legs.

Slow-Baked Chicken Legs (adapted from Michael Smith's recipe)
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup bbq sauce (I used a Paul Newman Original BBQ sauce)
- 2 tbsps red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsps molasses
- 2 tbsps yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp each ground cumin and chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cans (540 ml each) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into eights
- 4 peeled garlic cloves
- 4 chicken legs
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- fresh cilantro
- lime wedges

Preheat oven to 325F. Grab a heavy casserole dish that will fit all the chicken in one layer (but don't add the chicken yet!). Add tomatoes, bbq sauce, vinegar, molasses, mustard and spices. Stir well. Stir in beans, red peppers and garlic. Nestle in chicken legs. Cover and put in oven.

Bake for 3 hours. Serve sprinkled with green onions and cilantro, and a lime wedge. Goes well with a rice blend and green veggies.