Chicken Cacciatore

Growing up, I ate this meal a lot. Chicken Cacciatore is traditionally cooked with an whole chicken, cut into pieces. For a mid-week dinner, I like to use chicken breasts, when I know their

use won't jeapordize the dish. This is a simple, less time consuming version without the dredging of chicken through flour as you would with the traditional recipe.

2 chicken breasts (boneless here), halved crosswise

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

a handful of black olives, chopped

coursely chopped mushrooms (i had creminis)

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

basil/salt/pepper to taste

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, olives and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through.

Serve over warm pasta (I had linguine in the pantry). Serves 2, but enough sauce for 4.