One-Skillet Vegetable Chicken Sass

Do you enjoy trying out new recipes? Me, too. Now that my laptop has returned from the dead, I have a ton of recipes I had saved for later that I get to try. This spicy vegetable packed chicken supper is just one of many new dishes I was eager to try.

As I do with all my recipes, I read through the ingredients and instructions. The kitchen runs far more smoothly if I have formulated a plan of attack and gathered everything I need in one staging area. Two thoughts crossed my mind. First is that this dish is not a New Orleans skillet supper, but it sure could be. The first three ingredients are onions, bell peppers and celery. That’s the Holy Trinity in bayou cooking, no double.

The second is that knife skills would be involved in the prep work. I’ve got bowl-rocker choppers and mini electric food choppers and hand-held choppers. Any one of these contraptions would make quick work of onions, peppers and celery. I also have invested a small fortune over the years in decent knives. It was always with the intention of perfecting my knife skills. I am extremely slow, although over the years I have gotten more uniform in size. The only way to gain speed is to gain confidence. And the only way to gain confidence is to use my knives more often. So that was the plan, gather the ingredients and break out the knives. And for this job, I wanted to try out my latest acquisition to the knife collection. That knife is so sharp, it’s effortless. And as a klutz at times, it scares me.

Enough about fear – let’s get to cooking and eating!

One-Skillet Vegetable Chicken Supper
1 medium Onion
1 Sweet Bell Pepper, any color
2 Celery Ribs
3/4 cup Button Mushrooms
1 medium Zucchini
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 tablespoons Butter
4 boneless Chicken Breast
4 medium Russet Potatoes
2 (14 oz) cans Cut Green Beans
1-3/4 cups Chicken Stock
Kosher Salt to taste
Fresh Black Pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 fresh Bay Leaf

Peel and dice the onion, set aside. Core, seed and slice bell pepper into strips, set aside. Dice Celery Ribs, set aside. Rinse and slice mushrooms, set aside. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then into half-moon slices. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter in the skillet. Stir in the prepared vegetables, and cook until tender. Set vegetables aside.

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Place the chicken breasts into the now empty skillet to cook over medium heat. Let chicken dry-fry for about 10 minutes on each side, until juices run clear.

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While the chicken cooks, peel and dice the potatoes. Place potatoes in a strainer basket and rinse until water runs clear, set aside. Drain and rinse the green beans, set aside.

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Remove chicken from the skillet to a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Return the chicken and the cooked vegetables to the skillet. Add the potatoes and green beans. Pour  chicken stock into the skillet, give it a swirl.

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Season skillet with salt, fresh black pepper, Cayenne pepper and thyme. Stir to blend. Add the bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and some of the liquid has been reduced. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

To get all that spicy broth, it’s best to serve this dish in a soup bowl. It’ll be chunky on top, brothy on the bottom so you’ll want to break out the bouillon spoons. Don’t forget the warm bread. Fair warning, it might not look like it packs a punch, but the cayenne pepper comes through.