Chicken Cacciatore

 This dish is delicious with tender chicken thighs in a healthy marinara style sauce full of sweet peppers and mushrooms. Yumminess on a plate! I've been wanting to make this dish since I first saw it on Pam's blog, but had kept putting it off with our extremely hot weather. But we've been blessed with much cooler weather this past week. Today it was only about 82 degrees, so I was craving some comfort food. After a long hot summer, I'm finding myself getting anxious for cool weather and the foods that go with it. Pam's Chicken Cacciatore is a fantastic dish and really hit the spot. She found this winning recipe at Cooking Light.

 Chicken thighs are browned in oil in an oven-proof skillet or dutch oven. Then onions, peppers and garlic are cooked and the sauce added. Pam's recipe calls for jarred marinara sauce, but I didn't have any, but I so wanted to make this, so I subbed a large can of crushed tomatoes. It worked very well. I added the tomatoes and herbs and popped it in the oven to cook. After it came out, I topped it with basil and some grated cheese. Outstanding meal! This be going on my rotation as it not only tastes delicious, but it is easy to put together, even for a week-night meal. Hope you give it a try!

Chicken Cacciatore
Adapted from Pam at For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:
about 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil- I may have used little more
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, any fat trimmed off (Pam's recipe uses 4 thighs)
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups of baby bell peppers, sliced - I used red, orange and yellow peppers
1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, or 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
8 ounces mushrooms, quartered or sliced-I used Baby Bellas
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces) of good quality crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Season each side of chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Brown for about 4 minutes and turn over; brown for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
3. Add more oil to the skillet; add the onions and mushrooms. Cook for a couple of minutes until mushrooms give off most of liquid. Add the peppers to the skillet; cook 1 minute, then add the garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the canned, crushed tomatoes to the skillet. Stir in the dried oregano and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken back to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and then place pan into the oven. Bake for 30-35minutes until chicken is done. Larger thighs could take a few minutes more.
4. Remove skillet from oven; top with fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with pasta if desired. Or just sop up the sauces with crusty bread. Thanks Pam for a delicious dinner-Enjoy!