Do you ever look in the fridge the day before you leave on vacation and think, “What in the world do I do with all this food???” Well, I had that day on Friday, knowing I would be leaving town on Saturday. Even though my grown kids are still at home, I knew that those basic raw ingredients would go unused, so I needed to do a clean sweep before I left.
In some ways, this post is less about the end result (which was delicious) and more about the method of using up all the perishables in a creative way. What I ended up with, I dubbed Italian Chicken Stew, but your results are bound to vary. Keep in mind when you read my ingredient list: these are the things in MY fridge that needed to go before vacation. Your list will vary.
Italian Chicken Stew
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds chicken tenders, sauteed and chopped into bite-sized chunks
- 1 1/2 medium red onions, chopped
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 T. minced garlic
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 6 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 c. red wine (any color will do but I needed to use this last bit up)
- 2 c. kale, washed and cut/torn into 2″ pieces
- 1 c. fresh basil leaves
- 2 c. broccoli florets
- 1 t. smoky paprika
- 2 t. dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can garbanzo beans
Directions:
In one skillet, saute the chicken tenders in a bit of olive oil until completely cooked. Cut into bite-sized chunks and set aside.
In a very large skillet or a dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic, and peppers until tender and translucent. Add the tomatoes, kale, wine, and seasonings. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked down and the wine is partly reduced. Stir in fresh basil. Add broccoli florets and cook for another 5 minutes.
Stir in the chicken chunks and the garbanzo beans.
Serve in a bowl with crusty bread. We used the rest of a loaf of spinach-feta bread from our favorite local bakery.
I’m trying to get this posted in a hurry while I sit in the car outside the public library, using their wifi, so there won’t be many pictures this week!
Remember, the goal is to use as many perishables as you can before you leave town. All veggies, cooked and uncooked are fair game. Adding some grated cheese on top is also a nice way to garnish this stew. Also consider adding noodles or even rice. If I had had leftover rice, I would have stirred that in. If I had wanted noodles, I would have cooked the noodles separately and then stirred them in when I added the chicken.
Barb
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenders, sauteed and chopped into bite-sized chunks
- 1 1/2 medium red onions, chopped
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 T. minced garlic
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 6 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 c. red wine (any color will do but I needed to use this last bit up)
- 2 c. kale, washed and cut/torn into 2" pieces
- 1 c. fresh basil leaves
- 2 c. broccoli florets
- 1 t. smoky paprika
- 2 t. dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
In one skillet, saute the chicken tenders in a bit of olive oil until completely cooked. Cut into bite-sized chunks and set aside.
In a very large skillet or a dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic, and peppers until tender and translucent. Add the tomatoes, kale, wine, and seasonings. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked down and the wine is partly reduced. Stir in fresh basil. Add broccoli florets and cook for another 5 minutes.
Stir in the chicken chunks and the garbanzo beans.
Serve in a bowl with crusty bread.
