One Pot Chicken Cacciatore (THM E)
Chicken cacciatore is one of my husband's favorite meals, and it occurred to me recently that I almost never make this dish. Besides this time, I think I've made it one other time in the 10 years we've been together. Madness! I know.
If you haven't had chicken cacciatore before, it's basically a rustic Italian chicken stew with vegetables and tomatoes. This stew came together in about an hour. The chicken was perfectly tender, the sauce was rich and flavorful, and the veggies were wonderfully stewed.
I just picked up a new dutch oven yesterday, and I have no idea how I survived without one. Seriously! This big, heavy pot holds your meal, cooks it perfectly, and the clean up couldn't be easier. With it being enameled cast iron, I know the temperature will hold and stay fairly constant throughout the cooking process.
Let's start with the chicken. I used 1 pound each of chicken breasts and thighs for this meal. I know, thighs are typically a no-no for an E meal. However, the 1 pound of thighs only contains about 16g of fat and this recipe feeds about 8 people (maybe more), so you're well within the limits of fat for an E.
For vegetables, I used onions, garlic, red bell peppers, diced tomatoes, and capers. If capers are unfamiliar to you, they are delicious little olive-like, briny pearls. They have a taste and texture similar to olives, but they don't have any fat.
I seasoned the stew using dried oregano, white wine (something dry, like this pinot grigio), chicken stock, fresh parsley, and basil. The stewed tomatoes I used were also seasoned with basil, garlic, and oregano, for a deep, herbal base.
At the end, I tossed in the capers and a handful of fresh parsley, then served with a few leaves of fresh basil.
You have a couple of E-friendly choices for serving up this stew: over brown rice, plan-approved pasta, or cooked quinoa. Or you can skip all those and serve it as is, with some crusty sourdough for dipping ^_~. I chose to serve it over rice, which my kids love, and it helps stretch the meal a little further. My husband enjoyed it as a stew without the rice, and BOY did he love it. He ate some the first night I made it, and then the following afternoon for lunch. He made sure to tell me each time he ate it that this recipe was a definite keeper. [SCORE!]
The beauty about cooking with dutch ovens is you can take this straight from the oven/burner right over to the table for serving. Tada!
Get. In. My. Belly.
Serve this up as a quick weeknight meal with leftovers for lunch, or as an impressive, crowd-pleasing holiday dinner.
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