Cacciatore means to chase or hunt in Italian. Chicken hunter; Rabbit chaser; Pig hunter, you get the drift…Cacciatore is a meat caught and cooked in a tomato sauce with onion, garlic, mushrooms, green peppers, and wine. Luckily, we don’t actually have to do the hunting anymore. Just get a nice cut of meat or whatever looks good on sale.
For chicken cacciatore, you can use any type of chicken. Whole Foods had a sale on chicken quarters, so I bought 6. The dark meat is my favorite anyway, so this turned out delicious!
Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
4-6 piece of chicken
1 onion chopped
3 cloves of crushed, minced garlic
2 peppers- any color- I used a variety of green, red, orange, and yellow about 1/2 each
One container of mushrooms- button or baby portabellas
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup of red wine (or white wine or beer)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
fistful of your favorite fresh herbs or a tablespoon of dried herbs
Directions
Brown your chicken on both sides. I start with skin side down to get some browning going and get that flavor added to the pan. Cook on the first side about 12 minutes, then flip and cook for 6 minutes. Then take the chicken out of the pan.
Saute your onion, peppers, and garlic in 1 tablespoon of melted butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil for about 8 minute. I like to add the combo, because butter has a tendency to burn at a high temp, so the olive oil helps temper that a bit. Plus, I like the combo of both flavors together. Add your sliced mushrooms.
Tip on washing mushrooms…DO NOT WASH THEM UNDER WATER. Take a wet paper towel and clean the surface. They are like sponges and will absorb all the water. I have caught Becca eating them with dirt right out of the container. Good quality mushrooms are in good quality dirt…
Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Stir around for a few minutes and add in about 1 cup of red wine. You could use white wine or even substitute beer.
Add a large can of crushed tomatoes and a tablespoon of sugar. This helps cut the acidity in the tomatoes. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Add any fresh or dried herbs that you have. I used thyme, oregano, basil, and marjoram. I think marjoram is my new favorite herb.
Add the chicken back in. Cook for another 30-45 minutes turning pieces halfway.
Serve over rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, etc. Serve with a veggie and lots of crusty bread. I have lunch for tomorrow plus extra sauce. I think I might add it to eggs for breakfast one day. It is so yummy, I might even make it a soup and add croutons. SO AMAZING!
Fun Foodie Family 
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