Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish, also referred to as hunter’s stew. Early recipes may have been made with rabbit or chicken, and each recipe was adapted for those who might be traveling or hunting for several days and would require an easy to prepare recipe for outside cooking. Years ago I tasted a similar dish that was called Italian chicken  and it has always been a favorite of our family.

Actually, this afternoon I was thinking I would treat my husband to some red meat. I have been cooking only fish and chicken the past few weeks. So I started rummaging around in my freezer, which isn’t too hard because all I have is a small freezer above my refrigerator! The only red meat was  a huge rump roast (probably 5-6 lbs) that has been taking up space for almost a year. I knew it would take days to thaw that beefy hunk so once again it got passed by! My options were once again…fish or chicken!

I thawed 2 boneless breasts of chicken and cut them in about 2” pieces. (some were smaller) I browned them in a little olive oil and added peppers and onions.

I had a jar of homemade marinara from my Italian friend, Milena, that I have been saving for a special occasion. She brought this to me for an anniversary gift last month  and I stuck it in the freezer. Now folks…this is the real stuff. She is back visiting in Italy right now, or I would give the recipe. (check back later) This was a rich, savory full bodied flavored tomato sauce! Oh my goodness.

I had a package of dehydrated mushrooms that I reconstituted in boiling water. (actually it was half chicken stock and half water) It took about 15 minutes and then I drained them. Always save the liquid, it is full of flavor! I chopped them and added to the veggies and chicken.  I also added 2 cloves of minced fresh garlic and the jar of marinara. Simmer this for 20 minutes and then add chopped fresh parsley and basil and serve over whole wheat spaghetti. I topped it with shredded Asiago cheese. I served a side salad of arugula, cucumbers, carrots, chopped roasted red peppers and feta cheese. Our favorite salad dressing right now is balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Since I didn’t treat my husband to a hearty fare of red meat, I decided to treat him in another way. (healthy of course!!) I like to freeze bananas that are over ripe. I keep them in a zipper bag in the freezer to add to smoothies or muffins. Well tonight, I made banana chocolate ice-cream, topped with toasted chopped almonds. (Now, I didn’t divulge anything about it being good for you.) Well, he absolutely loved it! He said that it was better than any dairy queen. So what do you suppose the ingredients were??? Frozen bananas, cocoa powder and cold almond milk. I put them in my food processor and voila! It had the consistency and taste of soft serve ice-cream. I added a sprinkle of cocoa powder then chopped almonds. You would want to eat this right away as it melts quickly.