Braised Chicken with Zucchini, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes & Corn....

This is a quick dinner that I just whipped together tonight using all the extra vegetables I had in my fridge: zucchini, cherry tomatoes, carrots. I even through in a bag of frozen corn that I found buried in my freezer. I love cooking chicken on the stove top because it cooks so much faster than it would in the oven and it never dries out. By simmering pieces of chicken, with or without bones, in a sauce over a stove top, you are essentially braising the chicken. This cooking technique is hard to mess up- and it's simple. First, I chop and saute any vegetables that I have on hand. Then, I add the chicken and pour over a simple, fragrant tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover, and simmer on medium-low for about an hour. The result is always flavor-packed, succulent, and perfectly cooked. This is a great, tried and true recipe. It works with any vegetables and any cuts of chicken.  You can even use boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips. The beauty of this recipe is that it actually is beautiful too. A perfect dish to serve at a family-style dinner party. 

Summer Stove Top Chicken with Vegetables

Serves 4-6 

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 zucchinis, diced small

3 carrots, peeled into ribbons (use a peeler to peel ribbons strips of the carrots until you can't peel anymore)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup frozen corn kernels

6 pieces of chicken, cut of your choice, rinsed and patted dry

(I used chicken thighs and kept the skin on)

1 cup simple tomato sauce

1 garlic clove

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon dried basil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large saute pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about ten minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes and corn, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Grate the garlic clove into the veggies- (grating the garlic directly into the pan releases the most authentic garlic flavors and oils into the dish).  Pour the tomato sauce over, and stir in. Place the chicken in a separate bowl, and sprinkle the paprika, turmeric, and basil over the chicken and use your hands to rub the spices into each piece. Season with some more salt and pepper. Place the chicken pieces into the saute pan, and scoop the veggies and sauce over until well coated. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for about an hour. Serve the chicken with the veggies spooned over. Done. Works just as well in the winter with heartier vegetables like : squash, sweet potatoes, fennel...yum.

 Dice the zucchini

 Peel the carrot into ribbons

 Grate the garlic into the pan

 Cut the cherry tomatoes in half

 Bring to a boil before covering with a lid

 The final product

 Serve alongside a bed of rice