My challenge this week was to use up the tomatoes my friends left behind when they headed off to France on holiday and to work on their house there. These were vine-ripened tomatoes and the skins were already starting to shrivel, so I wanted to do something to remove the skins and cook them into a tomato-based dish.  I had chicken thighs on hand, so it was a logical step to make a chicken with tomatoes dish. This takes a little time to cook, but the actual process is pretty easy.

While a base of pasta would be lovely, it’s simply too high carb’d so I would suggest you use spaghetti squash or shredded cabbage, lightly steamed or raw, as the base to put this on. I just ate it as is with a side salad.

1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves Garlic
4 large Chicken Thighs, bone and skin removed
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 cup Zucchini, sliced
1/4 cup Sweet Peppers,sliced
1 1/2 cups Red Ripe Tomatoes  or 1 1/2 cup canned stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
1/4 cup chicken stock or cooking wine

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the tomatoes. Let them boil for about 5 minutes, then run cold water over them and drain. Let them cool until easy to hold, then use a sharp knife to cut the skin around the stem end and peel the skin off. It should slide off easily. Cut the tomatoes into pieces over a bowl so you can any juice that runs out as you cut them.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Remove to paper towel on a plate. Add garlic, additional butter, peppers and onions to the skillet and sauté until the onion is tender. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini and seasonings to the pan and stir together over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup of cooking wine if you would like or add 1/4 cup chicken stock for extra flavor. Stir the mixture together well, then arrange the chicken pieces in the pan. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, checking a couple of times to be sure there is liquid in the pan. Then stir the mixture around, add any liquid if it is getting low and turn the chicken pieces over, covering them with the tomato sauce. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 163 Fat: 8.7 g Net Carbs: 5.1 g Protein: 14.8 g