Chicken Cacciatore

This is a bit of a strange dish for me to start off the blog with since I don't make it often, but I guess the blog is about what I'm making every day, so I'm being honest with you!

I'll tell you the truth about this dish....there's no real history to it for me.  One night about 2 years ago I was trying to find something to do with the chicken thighs I had sitting around and I just didn't feel like making adobo or breaded baked chicken or bbq chicken or chicken pot pie (my usual chicken staples) so I did what any rookie wife, non meal planning, inexperienced with recipe winging person would do.  I started thumbing through recipe books. 

I have that old school red and white checkered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that never seemed to fail me with standard recipes, so I went there first and just happened to find this recipe which seemed relatively easy and sounded pretty tasty.  The greater miracle, was that I also just happened to have all the ingredients for it sitting in my fridge.  I don't know about you, but when I find an easy, tasty sounding recipe that has ingredients that are usually sitting in my fridge I'm all over it.

The original recipe said any meaty pieces of chicken.  Tonight I used chicken breasts, but I've used thighs in the past.  Someone will have to let me know how it turns out with drumsticks!

So here it is for your own recipe repertoire. 

Chicken Cacciatore.
Adapted the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book the 75th Anniversary edition

2 chicken breasts

1tbsp sunflower oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion sliced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
1/2 cup sherry

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried oregano

black pepper to taste

snipped fresh parsley for garnish

cooked pasta for serving with it!

1.  Brown the chicken in your oil of choice.  I use sunflower oil for higher heat cooking because of it's super high smoke point.  Remove the chicken from your pan/pot/skillet and set aside.

2.  Add mushrooms, onion and garlic to chicken drippings and cook until just tender.  Return your chicken to your pan/pot/skillet.

3.  Add herbs (I didn't have them all fresh, but I'm sure they would make the dish even better if they were all fresh), diced tomatoes with all the liquid, tomato paste, water, sherry (the original recipe called for 3/4 cup white wine and 1tsp sugar, but I had to substitute today, so sherry and no sugar), and pepper.  Combine together well and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer.  Let it simmer covered until the chicken is done.  I let it go for about 30 minutes. 

Serve atop pasta and sprinkle with parsley.  We added a touch of shredded grana padano on top!

Oops, I need to improve those photography skills!  Ha ha!  Can you see my shadow?

Bon Appetit!