Chicken Cacciatore

I have wanted to make this dish for quite a while but all of the recipes I have come across call for fryer chickens. I have absolutely no idea or a desire to cut up an entire chicken so this recipe calling for chicken breasts was right up my ally. It was a little more work than I originally thought but it was worth the out come.

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 c. white flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped

5 -6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 c. white wine, white cooking wine, apple or white grape juice

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. marjoram

1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using cooking wine)

1 bay leaf

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon, shake off excess oil and transfer to the blender. Increase heat to medium-high.

In a large Ziploc bag, combine flour, 1 tsp. kosher salt, and 1 tsp. black pepper. Add chicken pieces, seal bag, and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire bag into the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent pieces from sticking together. Saute until chicken is golden. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Turn off the heat under the skillet.

While chicken is draining, add wine (or juice), chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, salt and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3.5 - 4 hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta. Serves 6 -8.