Winner Dinner - Chicken Cacciatore

Every once in awhile when one is feeding numerous children, the stars align and miraculously everyone enjoys their dinner.  At Chez Coffey, we call this "Winner Dinner."  And Winner Dinners are a wonderful thing... everyone happily eating the same food at the same time without complaints.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit that one child does meticulously pick out every last piece of mushroom and leave them on the plate.)

Chicken Cacciatore is a bonified Winner Dinner.  It's simple, hearty and relatively healthy.  It isn't particularly expensive to make, and it freezes like a dream.

Recipes aren't my forte.  To be honest, I couldn't follow a recipe to save my life.  But here are the general cooking concepts.  If you need a recipe,  Giada's Cacciatore looks fabulous!

1) Dredge the chicken (I like boneless, skinless thighs) in seasoned flour.  I also like to roughly chop it, so it's easier for little mouths to eat.

2)  Heat oil in a pan and saute chicken in batches until their nicely browned.  Set chicken aside.

3)  Add peppers, garlic, onions, mushrooms to the pan and saute.  Add a little more olive oil if it's needed.  Deglaze the plan with a coupla good sized glugs of wine (red or white) and scrape up all the tasty bits from the bottom of your pan.  Season with salt, pepper and whatever else seems 'Italiany.'

4)  Add some canned diced tomatoes.  I like to throw in some capers and olives as well.

5) Throw the chicken back in the pan.  Either simmer on the stove for about 30 min. or throw in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes.  Serve over pasta with tons of fresh basil for garnish.