Wonder-Bred Italian Boy Cooks: Chicken Cacciatore

Um. I keep promising you blog lovin’ and I don’t deliver. So I’m going to quit talking about it — except for the fact that once I’m back from Austin next week, I’ll have a bit more time to write those posts, and I have one drafted for every week through September. And by drafted, I mean I’ve picked a person.

I love trying new recipes. I actually USE my recipe boards on Pinterest for this exact reason. Mark and I try to do something new each week.  We sit down with a pen in hand while browsing freshly pinned recipes.

But, I also like to have a few go-tos on hand each week. Mark’s chicken cacciatore is one of our go-tos.

Why is it one of the go-tos? Because it fulfills my crazy list of things I look for in a recipe:

1. Gluten free / easy to make a gluten-free option
2. General nutrition value of ingredients
3. Lower in calories but high in protein and fiber
4. Made with whole foods
5. Time required to make
6. Ease / skill required to make
7. Number of ingredients (less than 10 is g0od)
8. Cost per serving / cost of ingredients
9. Freezability
10. Let’s not forget the most important part: TASTE — which can be tricky when cooking for more than one person

My list seems a little ridiculous, I know, but I feel better about eating something when it fits a good chunk of these requirements.

Mark and I started making chicken cacciatore every few weeks and usually have 1-2 servings stocked in our freezer to grab quickly for lunches or for an easy dinner option. It’s a recipe that requires you to chop everything up, dump the ingredients into a pot, put the temp on low, and forget about it until a few hours later.

m.cecconi’s chicken cacciatore

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
3 peppers, roughly diced (we usually use 2 green and 1 red or yellow — any color works)
8-12 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced thick (can omit if you would like)
1 large red onion, roughly diced
2-3 cloves garlic (or let’s be honest, we add about 5), roughly minced
italian spices
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven (or deep saucepan with lid), heat the olive oil on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
2. Sprinkle some italian spices and salt and pepper on your chicken breast, and put in the pan.
3. Sear each side of the chicken. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Remove chicken and dice into bite-sized chunks. Do not pour out the chicken drippings / liquid (unless it really grosses you out)
5. Return heat to medium / high and add the vegetables. If you poured out the liquid, or if there isn’t much liquid, add a bit more olive oil and sauté your garlic and onions first.
6. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies give up their water.
7. Add the chicken back to the pot.
8. Pour in the tomatoes
9. Stir to combine.
10. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let sit for 1-2 hours. The longer you cook, the better it will taste.
11. Serve alone, or over pasta, quinoa or other grain of choice.

… and smell absolutely delicious.

[pinit]

This is how I have mine. We apparently forgot to put the mushrooms in this month’s batch … whoops!

And Mark serves his over pasta.

Bonus? This freezes really well. I’ve frozen this in lunch-sized portions and we’ve frozen double portions for dinners.

Do you have any favorite go-to weeknight meals?