Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Wednesday Dinner @ The Tammars: Hunter-Style Chicken. "Aka Chicken Cacciatore"

Okay so tonight's dinner was called "Hunter-Sytle Chicken". Then of course I see at the bottom of the page a note that says .... "Hunter-Style refers to a dish cooked with onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes. You might be more familiar with its Italian name - cacciatore, which means Hunter."

So, there you go! You learn something new every day. Or, at least I did today.

I am posting this prior to actually eating, however I'm fairly confident it will be good. I altered the recipe a bit because of my strong dislike for red bell peppers, or any bell peppers for that matter. And this recipe happens to call for 2 of them seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. No thanks. Also....because of my husband's fondness for every combo of startch and protein I can fit into a meal, I figured I'd add in some red potatoes, can't go wrong with that!

Tonight I broke my pattern of somewhat Asian themed meals that involve a seemingly long list of ingredients that you might not have on hand. This recipe, however, is stuff that I am pretty sure you have in your kitchen, making it a budget friendly meal that is easy to make for just 2 people or for a family of 4 or more.

INGREDIENTS

1 (roughly 3-lb) chicken, cut into 8 pieces and skinned.  (okay - I ended up buying a 'picnic pack' of chicken at the store. Pretty darn cheap, and it included a bunch of drumsticks, breasts and thighs. I did NOT skin them. 1) it's a pain and 2) it adds flavor!) 

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 assorted color bell peppers seeded and cut. (use at your own will!)  :) 
1/4 lb white mushrooms, sliced (I bought pre-sliced 8 oz package)
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 container tomato pasta sauce
Fresh thyme (optional) (though I was so happy to go snip some from my garden!)

COOK

Sprinkle chicken with salt/pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in skillet and add chicken. Cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in same skillet and add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes. Add bell peppers, mushrooms and celery. (I only added mushrooms and celery at this point) Cook until softened. Add chicken back into skillet and add pasta sauce and stir to coat. Bring mixture to boil and cover at reduced heat, simmer for 20 minutes till chicken is cooked and veggies are tender. Garnish with thyme if using.

BECKY'S NOTE

After adding mushrooms and celery, for a few minutes of cooking time, I added some chopped up red potatoes. Then a few minutes after that I added in a can of chicken broth and some more salt and pepper to "flavor every layer". I let that simmer together for about 6 or 7 minutes. THEN I added the chicken back and put DICED tomatoes (From a can) and a can of tomato sauce on top. I put the lid on for about 20 minutes.

We're about to go serve up so we'll see what the verdict is!


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