(111) Mediterranean Chicken Stew

A little bit of chopping beforehand paid off when it was time to actually cook! We all enjoyed this recipe. I didn't have any kalamata olives so I used regular black olives. This was delish eaten with the Creamy Polenta. For us, this was a 5 serving meal at a little more than 1c/serving. That was plenty!

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Mediterranean Chicken Stew

If you plan to make the polenta, bring water to a boil while chicken is browning, then add polenta to water when beginning step three of chicken recipe.

Source: Everyday Food, Jan/Feb 2005
Yield: 4-6 servings

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 plum tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped pitted Kalamata olives (about 5)
1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Creamy Polenta, for serving

1. Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low; add remaining teaspoon oil to skillet. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chickpeas and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes; cook over medium heat until starting to break down, 3 to 4 minutes. Add olives, vinegar, and chicken along with any accumulated juices to pan; toss until warmed through, about 1 minute. Stir in parsley. Serve over polenta.

Nutritional Information for 5 servings (per sparkrecipes.com)
Calories 288.2, Total Fat 6.0 g, Cholesterol 81.7 mg, Sodium 1,163.7 mg, Potassium 355.4 mg, Total Carbohydrate 25.9 g, Dietary Fiber 5.3 g, Sugars 0.1 g, Protein 34.5 g

(73) Spicy Basque-Style Chicken

I'm always my own worst critic when it comes to meals. I'll say something is good, but I rarely say "HOLY COW, I just cooked a killer dinner". Tonight, I said just that. And lots of Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm and a !MEOW! thrown in for good measure. I made this exactly as written. Do not leave out any of the items. They all are important in their own right.

I served this with yellow rice and steamed broccoli. While the rice was cooking, I made the chicken. This is truly a 30 minute meal, start to finish. If you can't find smoked paprika in your grocery store, check out one of my favorite places to shop, Penzeys!

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Spicy Basque-Style Chicken

Smoked paprika is a traditional ingredient in Spanish cuisine. Serve this dish with saffron rice to soak up the tasty sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces chicken, about 1/2 cup sauce, 1 tablespoon prosciutto, and 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, June 2007

1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/4 cup sliced green olives
2 (10-ounce) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1/4 cup finely chopped prosciutto
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Combine paprika and pepper; sprinkle evenly over chicken. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds. Turn chicken over. Add olives and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with prosciutto and parsley.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 264 (31% from fat), Fat: 9g (sat 1.6g,mono 4g,poly 2.2g), Protein: 36.2g, Carbohydrate: 8g, Fiber: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Iron: 1.4mg, Sodium: 876mg, Calcium: 92mg