WHB: Chunky Chicken Cacciatore

Being that I'm still completely new to this world of blogging, I wanted to do something that could get me in touch with some other food bloggers - so I figured I should participate in a round-up! As I was browsing around internet land last week I found the WHB,or the Weekend Herb Blogging. I decided I would pick one recipe this week to fit this challenge. Of course, that required some thinking about what exactly I wanted to make - like I've been saying, since I'm moving I'm really trying my best to avoid buying a lot of new food (especially since one of our friends moved out of his house and left a TON of food in our refrigerator and freezer so he wouldn't have to move it). After some careful consideration I decided I would make chicken cacciatore, from a recipe I found on grouprecipes.com. All I needed to buy were the peppers and onions, with the rest of food waiting to be eaten in my pantry and fridge. And I am quite aware this meal just looks like mush, but it tasted good and while I do think presentation matters, flavor is definately more important to me. And after an hour and a half of cooking, I was just too hungry to care.

Considering the huge issue with the salmonella tainted tomatoes that has caused a huge problem as of late, I decided I would of course make a dish featuring tomatoes. However, I did use canned-stewed tomatoes, as that's what the recipe called for (and hey, I like to play it safe too). But I figured it would make a good post, with the issue on tomatoes and all. Apparently 228 have become ill from tomatoes. For some tips on safety in eating tomatoes, an article in the San Francisco Gate indicates the following:



On the do-not-eat list are raw red plum, red Roma or red round tomatoes, unless they were grown in specific states or countries that the FDA has cleared because they were not harvesting when the outbreak began or were not selling their tomatoes in places where people got sick.


Also safe are grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached. That is not because there is anything biologically safer about those with a vine but because the sick have assured investigators that is not the kind of tomato they ate.

I surely hope that the current tomato problem ends, because not getting tomatoes on my sandwiches at delis is quite upsetting. Though I assume getting food poisoning from a fruit would be the worse alternative.

For more information on WHB check out the rules here. To see other entries for WHB for the week of the 16th-22nd check out Joanna's Food after the weekend and see what other yummies people came up with!

Chunky Chicken Cacciatore (serves 4)

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2 to 2-inch pieces)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans strewed tomatoes
3/4 tbsp light brown sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl comine, flour, oregano, basil, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
2. In a large skilet heat olive oil an cook chicken until sides are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
3. Remove chicken and set aside; add to skillet onion, peppers, garlic, and 1 tbsp oil. Saute 10-15 minutes, until tender.
4. Sprinkle with flour/spice mix while cooking. Add tomates with the juice and stir until bubbly.
5. Add brown sugar, continue to stir, add chicken to mixture. Cook 10-15 minutes on low heat.