Chicken Cacciatore

I'm moving on...

Yet taking a break from doing accounting and creating anew with my fresh clean slate of a calendar. I hope I can say that I'm still in vacation but in essence, I'm not, in fact I'm not officially employed by anyone except my own and there seemed to be limitless amount of work still to be done, there were even remnants from last year's blogging duties.



This dish is one of those happy dish I love cooking for my family.  Thank God I still have stocks of #Contadina Stewed tomatoes and half a jar of Napolenata Pasta sauce in the fridge to use in this tomato-rich classic Italian dish.

The keywords here are quick and easy.  The words I live by when ever I cook and of course share here in my blog.

I adapted the recipe in Giada de Laurentiis show in Food Network long time ago, making sure I won't mess up this dish.  However, take note, that I omitted the white wine, and changed the procedure a tad bit.

Check out more of Giada-inspired recipes at the link below:

Feeling Like 'Everyday Italian' - Easy Risotto Recipe

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs
2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine (omitted)
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Procedure:

1. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.
2. In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

3. Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. (Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.) Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers, bell pepper and oregano.
5. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
6. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.
7. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Enjoy!