The other day, as my husband and I were talking about food and dietary needs and restrictions, he mentioned that he prefers to have some meat along with his pasta.  That statement immediately made me think about Chicken Cacciatore.  And I already had all of the ingredients on hand!

So this morning, I pulled out a couple of cookbooks that I knew had a recipe.  Then I was curious how many cookbooks I have with that recipe.  Turns out, it's six.

(As a side note, I really don't need any more cookbooks.  It's just that there are so many more cookbooks that I want!)

Chicken Cacciatore

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into three pieces each
paprika, salt and pepper
olive oil (a couple of tablespoons)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 cup white cooking wine
about 1/2 lb. mushrooms (2-3 cups, sliced)
1 1/2-2 cups chicken stock
1 (14.5 oz) can diced (Italian style) tomatoes
1 (12 oz) can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
a couple of teaspoons dry basil
about 1 tablespoon rinsed capers
15 huge green olives, stuffed with garlic and jalapenos, sliced into three pieces each
a few sprigs of fresh oregano
a sprig of fresh thyme
a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary
a small handful of fresh parsley

Here's a picture of most of the ingredients:

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with paprika, salt, and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a very large pan.  (I love my enameled cast-iron dutch oven!)
Brown all sides of the chicken.  Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
Saute (or cook, stirring often enough that they don't burn) the onion, celery, and garlic in the pan until the onion is mostly cooked.
Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the wine.  Stir it around, and use it to scrape up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Let it cook off some of the liquid.
Add the tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, bay leaf, and basil, and stir it up.  Put the chicken back in, and make sure it's down into the sauce, so it will cook.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let it simmer for a bit.
Add the capers, olives, rosemary, thyme, and most of the oregano.  Continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
Sprinkle the parsley and the rest of the oregano on top, and serve with noodles and hard cheese.  (My favorite is pecorino romano.)