Roasted Tomato Braised Chicken

I wanted to do a quick dinner tonight that didn’t take to much work.  Now I know it may look like there’s a lot of ingredients and steps, but read through entire recipe and you’ll see it is a snap.  Don’t tell your family though.  They’ll think you worked for hours on this.

The chicken and tomato sauce will go well over pasta as I did it tonight, over rice or just as the main course with a small salad and crusty bread.  No matter how you choose to serve it, you and your family are going to love this dish.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-6 Chicken Thighs (you can also you breasts or a combination)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 medium onion – diced
• 1 red pepper – diced
• 1 green pepper – diced
• 1 large carrot – minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup red wine
• 2    14.5 ounce cans roasted tomatoes
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix the flour, pepper, salt and garlic powder in large flat bowl.
2. Dredge the chicken thighs on each side in mixture
3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to large skillet and heat over medium high.
4. Add chicken to heated pan and saute each side for 2 minutes to brown.  It will not be cooked through, but they will finish cooking while braising in tomato sauce.
5. Remove chicken from pan, set aside and cover.
6. Add remaining olive oil to pan and heat.  Now add the carrots, onions, peppers and oregano and saute 3-4 minutes to soften veggies.
7. Add the wine and reduce by half.
8. Now add the tomatoes mix well and taste.  Add salt and pepper as needed.
9. Add the chicken back to pan and reduce heat to medium.  Cover and cook 4-6 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
10. Uncover, add the cheese to each piece of chicken, put cover back on and cook 2-3 minutes to melt cheese.
11. Top wish some fresh basil and serve.  Works well over pasta or even rice.