I’m always on the hunt for delicious weeknight dinner recipes. I find that although my expectation of cooking is that every night I will be able to whip up extravagant, time-intensive masterpieces, the reality is that when you work full time, you just don’t have the time! By the time I get home from work, I’m a. already hungry, and b. although I’ve set aside time in the day to plan a meal out, I never actually do this. I’ve found Pinterest to be good for this, and often when I come home trying to think of what to cook, this is where I will go first.

Enter this delicious chicken skillet. Its what I think might be a perfect weeknight meal. I mean, you only need one pan, you can chuck in virtually any vegetables you have, and within half an hour you have a delicious one pot, hearty dinner. It’s a perfect dinner for winter as it has the feel of a casserole, but is quick and easy. It’s also super healthy, so your body will love it too! I always try to cook healthy in the week so I can eat whatever I want on the weekends, does anyone else do that?

I do have to admit; with this one I did make a mistake. In my haste to get food underway, I started chopping up mushrooms and accidently cooked up shitake mushrooms with the dish instead of your regular brown/swiss mushrooms! It was a little strange having them in there, and it didn’t really work. But I have cooked this one before with regular mushrooms, and its really delicious! So there is my little confession to you valued readers. I can’t believe I did that, but hey, we all make hilarious mistakes in the kitchen sometimes. It’s part of the fun of cooking!

Italian Chicken Skillet

Adapted from The Wanderlust Kitchen

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 500 grams of chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 300 grams of mushrooms, sliced (make sure you don’t use shitake like I mistakenly did!)
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 3 carrots, sliced finely
• ½ cup of olives, preferably pitted
• 1 (500g) can of diced tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley for garnishing

Method

1. Cut your chicken breasts into smaller chunks. I had about 6 portions from 2 breasts. Then season with salt and pepper
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or pan over a medium heat. Once this has heated up, add the chicken and brown on each side. This should take 3 minutes on each.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate. Add the remaining oil and garlic, onion, thyme and oregano. Cook until the onion starts to go clear.
4. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes until they have begun to soften. Be sure to stir them to avoid any of the herbs sticking to the pan and burning.
5. Add the celery and carrots to the pan, along with about a quarter of a cup of water, if the pan is looking a little dry. Cook for about 5 minutes on the medium heat, until the carrots have started to soften.
6. Next, add the can of tomatoes, along with another quarter of a cup of water. Add the olives, and stir the mixture to ensure the tomato is mixed through. Get this to come to a slight simmer, about 2 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper to your taste.
7. Place the chicken in the pan; ensuring it is covered by some of the tomato mixture. Cook the mixture on the stovetop covered by a lid until the chicken is cooked through completely, and the sauce is bubbling. This should take about 10-15 minutes, but ensure you check the chicken to see if it is done.
8. Serve hot, garnished with parsley.

And that’s really all you need to do. I love how simple this recipe is, as you can really just chuck everything in and make it your own, based on what is in your pantry. The first time I tried this recipe I went by the book, but I really felt like experimenting this time, and I think it paid off. Sometimes by taking a recipe you find and changing it up, you discover something equally if not more delicious (although perhaps some might prefer the original version). This recipe is one of those ones that is nice and simple, and you are unlikely to mess up as long as you stick to the basic sauce and herb combinations.

I really hope you all like this one! I’m trying not to cook too many sweet things for the blog, so hopefully you enjoy some more savoury, healthy dinner recipes! Let me know in the comments below if you would love to try this recipe, and how you might do a little spin on a simple Italian chicken skillet.

Until next time, happy cooking!

Ella xx