Foodie Fridays: Baked Chicken, Sausage, and Vegetables

My husband and I rarely drink alcohol, but we often have a little wine for the holidays.  We usually have at least half a bottle left over, and I am always trying to figure out ways to use it up.  I recently discovered that wine is by far the best acid to use in the marinade for baked chicken (even better than something like lemon juice), as it keeps the meat very moist and tender.  We had leftover red wine after Thanksgiving, and even though I have only used white wine for baked chicken before, I decided to try the red wine.  It was excellent!  If you ever find yourself looking for a way to use up a bottle of wine, I highly recommend using it to bake chicken.

Baked Chicken, Sausage, and Vegetables

2/3 C. red wine
1/3 C. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
8 oz. peeled baby carrots
6 small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
12-16 oz. firm link sausage, sliced*
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in half

Whisk together the wine, oil, and salt.  Toss the vegetables, sausage slices, and about half of the marinade together in a large roasting pan.  Nestle the chicken pieces, evenly spaced, into the vegetables.  Sprinkle each piece of chicken with a little salt and pepper.  Pour the rest of the marinade over everything, coating the chicken well.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are soft (be careful not to overcook the chicken).  Serves 6.

*I used small chorizo sausage links from La Tienda, but any firm link sausage, such as kielbasa or andouille, would be perfect.  Johnsonville makes a fully cooked Andouille Chicken Sausage that would work well in this recipe.