Mellow Me Out Chicken Cacciatore

Alright, I know, I know, I know…I’ve been a total fail blogger. Whereas Liz had an excuse, I didn’t. I just basically…stopped. But I’m starting back up so be afraid.. Be very afraid.

I started this one out the night I made my oh-so-delicious chicken cacciatore and then for some reason, stopped. I can’t remember why. So rather than re-write the entire thing, I’ll keep it just the way it was because I could not even begin to re-capture the depth of emotion I was feeling at the time.

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First off, I must assure you that no children were harmed in the making of this meal. And I say this because my younger son was soooooooooo naughty, I was ready to throw my chicken on the floor and just quit. You see, Jack is very cute but, his angle face only distracts you from his devil horns. I’m convinced that given the correct tools (and the right partner in crime), he could very well take over the world. No joke.

Let’s just say, I now have cream of tartar and rainbow sprinkles scattered about my house and my older son, Ethan, now has smushed strawberries embedded into his mattress. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little dude, but this child might just be the death of me.

But I digress. Luckily after this insanely crazy incident, I had a plate of beautiful chicken cacciatore to sit down to and enjoy. And when I say beautiful…I mean it. I actually sort of made up this recipe, having no idea what I was doing; so the fact that it turned out was a miracle.

The music: “Rolling in the Deep” by: Adele. If you haven’t heard that song, I highly recommend it.
The drink: Frigging coffee…again.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

Rice (however much you want to make, really)
1 - 28oz can of diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1c. mushrooms, chopped
1T. chopped basil
1T. chopped parsley
2 cloves of grated garlic
1 ½ - 2lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Pan searing flour
Garlic infused oil
Salt and pepper

Cook rice according to package while doing all of this other junk.

Salt and pepper and dredge the chicken thighs with the pan searing flour. You could use regular flour if you’d like…I just had pan searing on hand.

Drizzle a couple of garlic infused olive oil into a pan (I made my own oil) and cook over medium-high heat, turning once, until the outside becomes a nice golden brown, transfer to a plate, and set aside. (insert the picture I forgot to take here)

While the chicken is cooking, slice, chop, sing to, play baseball (or whatever else you’d like to do with them) your veggies and herbs and stick ‘em in a bowl; letting them all hang out together for a little bit before transferring them to the pan you cooked the chicken in. Grate the garlic down into the veggies while they cook.

Before the veggies get too soft, add the chicken back in, letting it all cook the rest of the way for at least 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the can of tomatoes…I know, not so pretty yet, right? Just wait. Let this all simmer (lid on) for as long as you want really. If you let it simmer too long, the veggies can become mushy though…so just keep an eye on it.

Oh yeah…here we go….

Serve over rice aaaaand…. Ta Da!!! Chicken Cacciatore!!!  Enjoy!

Love,
Sarah