Lunch & Dinner

Chicken Cacciatore (Cacciatora)

Today’s recipe is for chicken cacciatore. I was recently looking through a torn, tattered, very tired cookbook that I was given as a bridal shower gift back in 1966. (I know— I’m not as young as most of you. But I was once!). Anyway I was interested in a lot of the pictures. There was a series of photo instructions on how to truss a whole chicken for baking. That was the skinniest, most emaciated chicken I have seen in years! Similarly, the beautiful photo of a freshly roasted, stuffed Thanksgiving turkey showed a lovely finished product, but, again, the bird was incredibly skinny. That set me to thinking about what supplements, additives, medications must be going into the poultry we eat these days. It’s really frightening! You constantly read about all the dangerous junk added to our food, but somehow it sort of goes in one ear and out the other. To actually look at the growth difference between poultry of 1966 and that of today pretty much scares me silly. Makes me not want to eat any more. It absolutely adds to the argument that “Certified Organic” is probably a safer way to go.

Anyway, the subject of today’s post is chicken cacciatora. This is a dish I like a lot for several reasons. It’s very quick and easy to prepare. Although it is nicely filling, it has a very low calorie count, and very few grams of carbohydrates. A Diabetic’s dream of a dish.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-1/2 pounds of whatever chicken parts you prefer (I used whole legs)
  • 2 medium onions, sliced
  • 2 (I used 4–we like garlic) large cloves fresh garlic, grated or chopped
  • 1 1-pound can tomatoes
  • 1 8-ounce can seasoned tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. crushed oregano
  • 1 tsp. celery seed
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1 or 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup cooking Sauterne

DIRECTIONS

  • Slowly brown chicken, using Pam, remove from skillet
  • Add onions and garlic, cooking till tender, but not brown
  • Combine remaining ingredients except Sauterne.
  • Add chicken to skillet, pour sauce over, cover—simmer 45 minutes.
  • Stir in cooking wine.
  • Cook uncovered, turning occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender and sauceĀ is thick.
  • Serve with a small salad or green vegetable of your choice.

Do not forget to do your calculations. I do not print the nutritional values of my recipes because people experiment. People add ingredients, delete some, make different portion sizes. Lots of room for error. You must jot down the calories and grams of carbs in each ingredient then figure out the counts per serving. But only if you are serious about not letting your diabetes kill you. I would rather not do that, thank you.

AboutMiss Kate

Miss Kate is a diabetic who has perfected her cooking processes and recipes over the years. She shares her unique way of cooking for diabetics so that they can benefit from the discoveries she has made.