chicken cacciatore

I made chicken cacciatore the other night and went by this recipe from A Cookie A Day. The overall results were very good, and I'll certainly make this again. The ony thing i might change in the future is how many tomatoes to use..I think the recipe called for 3 roasted tomatoes in addition to a 28-oz jar of them, so I used a 28-oz jar along with a 14 oz can of roasted tomatoes. It tasted great but mine almost had too much sauce-I think next time I could use 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes instead, along with 1 14-oz jar of the roasted tomatoes. Also, since I'm not a big black pepper user, it was just a hair too peppery for me. My husband, on the other hand, loved the amount of pepper. That said, if you aren't a huge pepper person, you might want to decrease the amount of black pepper, say by half, and see how it tastes to you. I also added parmesan cheese at the end and my husband and I thought it really completed the dish. the original recipe can be found on the link below, and my changes can be found in the recipe typed below.

Chicken Cacciatore
adapted from A Cookie A Day, who adapted it from a giada de laurentiis recipe.

I N G R E D I E N T S :

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging Seasoned with salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice (you might try using less, say a 14-oz can if you want less sauce)
3 ripe tomatoes- Roasted (or 1 can)
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (i used just under 1/8th cup dried basil leaves)
1 bag or package of mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup or more of parmesan cheese

D I R E C T I O N S :

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
Cut tomatoes in fourths, place on roasting pan with 2 Tbsp Olive oil , salt and pepper, roast for 15 minutes.
(OR: instead of doing this, i simply used a 14-oz can of roasted tomatoes.)

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper.
Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.
In a large heavy sauté pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame.
Add the chicken pieces to the pan and sauté just until brown, about 5 minutes per side.
Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and sauté over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
Add the regular tomatoes, roasted tomatoes with their juice, broth, oregano, and basil.
Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce.
Add sliced mushrooms to the pan and stir into sauce.
Bring the sauce to a simmer.
Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces.
Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and serve.

The recipe i got this from served it over jasmine rice. I used whole wheat penne pasta and thought it was great with it.