Spicy Chicken Cacciatore

 
After a hurried run through Costco yesterday, I found myself staring at twenty-one fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the fridge today and I just couldn't face making one of the five chicken recipes that I typically rotate through.  I really wanted to try something different, but also didn't feel like heading out in the rain to the grocery store to grab any missing ingredients, so it had to be something I could make with what I had on hand.

Enter Epicurious.  This great website lets you enter one keyword, a main ingredient or something you want to include in a recipe, and literally gives you a choice of thousands of recipes to choose from.  After eliminating a handful because they were too complicated, or I didn't have the ingredients on hand, I settled on this recipe for Spicy Chicken Cacciatore.

I laughed when I read at the bottom of the recipe that it was first published in 1948.  Apparently we were kicking it old-school for dinner tonight.  When I asked Paul if he'd had this dish before he replied: "Yes, about 30 years ago and it tasted exactly the same!"

This dish was super easy to put together and had a great combination of spices.  It was really hearty as it was served over spaghetti.  Next time I'm going to kick it up a notch and add way more hot pepper flakes just to spice it up nicely.

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try, perfect for a cold winter's night!

Spicy Chicken Cacciatore

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 TBSP olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1 - 28oz can diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 pound spaghetti, freshly cooked

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. (I diced my chicken into smaller pieces even though the original recipe calls for leaving them whole) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and saute until brown, about 5 minutes.  Turn chicken over; saute 3 minutes.  Transfer chicken to plate.  Add bell pepper and next four ingredients to skillet, stir 2 minutes.  Mix in tomatoes with juices, tomato paste, wine and vinegar.  Return chicken to skillet; spoon some sauce over.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.  Arrange spaghetti on a large platter; top with chicken and sauce.  Garnish with parsley.

Enjoy!