Chicken Cacciatore

My Mom came up with this recipe, and over time I have made it into my own. It was my easy go-to meal when I was living by myself, the leftovers lasted for lunches almost all week, and it is a pretty healthy meal! I hope you enjoy!

~1 lb Chicken breast (boneless, skinless), in strips
1 medium onion (I always buy sweet yellow onions...), in rings or strips
1.5 (1-2 really) Bell peppers (I love to mix 1 green and 1 red, but only had green today), in strips
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 can Diced Tomatoes (mine were flavored with olive oil & garlic)
1/4-1/3 cup Tomato Sauce

Slice up the onion and bell pepper. Usually I leave the onion in rings, 

but cut it the wrong way and ended up with strips.

Cook the onion and bell pepper in a pan with oil on medium heat. Add in some salt, pepper, and oregano (sometimes I will experiment with other spices for new combinations, tonight I added Rosemary) to taste. 

When the onion starts to brown, remove from pan and set aside. 

Throw chicken into pan, season with salt & pepper, brown chicken on all sides, but don't worry about cooking completely through.

Add onion & bell pepper and then stir.

Top with the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Cover and simmer on medium-low (around 4 is good on my stove) for 45 minutes, quickly stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Eat on its own (low carb!) or add in some pasta. 

Feel free to top with some Parmesan 

(we did tonight, but usually I don't add it).

The best part about this recipe is it is so simple, you can REALLY make it your own. I've used a can of Rotel (diced tomato & green chiles) for a Mexican flavor, it was delish!

Chicken Avocado Enchiladas

Ok, so we put the most recent challenge on hold, but will each be making meatloaf soon! Thanks for voting, we're looking forward to sharing some creative recipes with you!

Since we aren't posting any meatloaf recipes yet, I decided to share one of my new favorite recipes. I do a lot of research in my spare time and was able to combine a few different recipe ideas for Chicken Enchiladas and Avocado Enchiladas into one delicious meal! The recipe is below...I WISH we'd thought to take a picture, as they were gooey and so yummy! Serve with refried beans, Spanish rice, or even a salad!

~1lb chicken breast (cut into small cubes)
Salt, Pepper, Cumin
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (I used green)
1/2 cup onion, diced (I used sweet yellow onion)
6oz Cream Cheese
Salsa (any kind will work)
2 Avocados, cubed
Flour tortillas (although you could use corn)
Monterrey Jack cheese

Put some oil (veggie, olive, whatever you have around) in a pan to warm up. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and cumin, then throw into the pan until cooked on all sides. Throw in bell pepper & onion and saute. Add in 1/2-3/4 cup of salsa (start smaller and add in to your preference) and the cream cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and the sauce is creamy.

In a baking dish, put a thin layer of salsa down so the tortillas don't stick (or you could use cooking spray)

To assemble:
Lay out a tortilla, put down a row of avocado slices, top with a little Monterrey jack cheese, then add some of the chicken & sauce mixture. Roll up and place seam down in a baking dish. Repeat until you're out of goodies. Top enchiladas with more salsa and cheese. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes (until the cheese begins to brown and you can see the sauce bubbling out the sides of the enchiladas.
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Tonight we're heating up a favorite: Zucchini Lasagna! I came up with this recipe when Hanz and I were in the beginning stages of dating, and he SCARFED it down! For Father's Day I was asked to make a "healthy" lasagna and remembered how much Hanz had enjoyed it in the past. I ended up making 2, and put one in the freezer (took it out a day ago to thaw in the refrigerator). I'll be sure to post pictures and the recipe for this soon!
-The Mrs.