Easy Ratatouille Chicken

It's been wonderful, seeing how our garden has produced lots of vegetables and herbs.

I get so creative trying to incorporate all of these babies. 

Then all of a sudden it's the first frost and my husband went out and picked EVERYTHING...

So I made a classic, and one of our favorites...

This dish comes together really fast and it's all made in one skillet on the stove. One BIG skillet.

It starts out huge and then of course all those delicious vegetables cook down and while it still is a copious amount, it no longer looks like it is going to overflow the pan-haha. 

The kicker at the end is to add your favorite cheese over the chicken and let melt.....yum yum nom!

Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. Tomatoes are a key ingredient along with summer squash, bell pepper, eggplant, onions, garlic, thyme, parsley and basil.

In this easy version the chicken is lightly browned and set aside and the vegetables are all simmered together, the chicken is placed back into the mixture, covered and simmered until cooked through and tender. 

I love to serve this over couscous to make it a hearty one dish meal. It's delicious over pasta or rice as well!

INGREDIENTS

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt andpepper 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small eggplant cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1 yellow/red or green bell pepper - stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or grated

2 small zucchini or summer squash- trimmed, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/2-inch thick

1 28 ounce can  whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped (or 3 cups of fresh, chopped)

1 tsp dried Oregano and Marjoram (if you have it)

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 cup mozzarella, shredded

Finely grated pecorino-romano, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. 

Heat a large, deep skillet over medium, add 1 tbsp. of the oil and swirl to coat. Add the chicken and cook, undisturbed, 3-4 minutes per side, transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and saute the eggplant and onions to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the bell pepper and zucchini, season, and cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Saute the garlic now for 30 seconds, stirring to combine all.

Add in the wine and oregano and marjoram.

Stir in the tomatoes and then nestle the chicken  in the vegetable mixture. Cover and bring to a brisk simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, partially covered, until the vegetables are very soft and the chicken is tender, about 25-30 minutes.

Top each piece of chicken with 1/4 cup of mozzarella, cover until melted, 3-4 minutes. 

Sprinkle the parsley over all. Serve with the grated cheese.

This recipes is adapted from: Rachael Ray

Enjoy!

 This recipe is shared on My Link Parties. Also shared on http:// www.thecountrycook.net and http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/ and http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/