Chicken Cacciatore

I have to say - my intentions were good, but as you can see...I didn't really follow through with my week of recipes idea. I cooked three nights in a row, but when it came time to blogging, it just wasn't happening. You might be asking yourself, "Beth, you posted two recipes in 1 day." Well my friends, that is not quite true. I started this post on 2/16 and have just now finished it on 2/22. Oops! ;) I've been fighting off the tail end of a cold, so I'm going to chalk it up to that.

Anyway, on to the yum yums....

Dish two of "Back in the Kitch week" was Chicken Caccitore. The name of this dish has always intimidated me. With such strong name like "caccitore" I assumed this had to be a difficult meal to make. Little did I know... not only was this dish easy to follow, it was very flavorful and a little out of the ordinary for my taste buds. Almost every pasta dish I make is covered in pre-made pasta sauce. This was my first time making a red sauce out of tomato paste, white wine and diced tomatoes. I was pretty impressed.

Check out the recipe below. If you like chicken and pasta, I think you'll love this one.



Recipe:
2 1/2 to 3 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs and drumsticks.)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, slice (But I chose to chop)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 6 oz can tomato paste
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh parsley

1) Skin chicken. In a large skillet, brown chicken on all sides in hot oil over medium heat (about 15 minutes), turning occasionally. Remove chicken from skillet, reserving drippings in skillet; set chicken aside.
2) Add mushrooms, onions and garlic to skillet. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Return chicken to skillet.
3) Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken in skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning once during cooking. Sprinkle with parsley. If desired, serve over hot cooked pasta.

*ANOTHER BH&G low fat meal! Per 3 oz chicken + 1/2 cup vegetable mixture: 280 calories, 11 grams a fat! That's two healthy meals in a row. Maybe I'll be bikini ready before I know it! ;)