Chicken Cacciatore over zoodles

Today is day 3 of my current Whole30. And I'm already hitting the "kill all the things" phase. If you've never done a Whole30, click here to see what I'm talking about. Good thing I planned my menus for the week because honestly all I wanted to do this evening was bury myself in the 12 gallons of ice cream (yes TWELVE GALLONS) we have in our outside freezer, then maybe cry for a little while. But alas, I did not. I stood in the kitchen, gritted my teeth to avoid yelling at my children for no good reason, prepped and made this deliciousness. I really like to cook though; if I didn't I think a Whole30 would be much harder for me.

This is the Chicken Cacciatore from the new Whole30 book. Find it on Amazon here. Chock full of great tips and recipes. Even though I've done a Whole30 before and I have tons of recipes I like I am still really enjoying this book.

Here is how I did the recipe. Remember I cook for 9 and this did leave some leftovers for tomorrow, so if you're family is smaller, half this sucker :)

Whole30 Chicken Cacciatore 

4 - 6 Tbsp cooking fat (I used olive oil)
8 chicken legs (bone in, skin on)
6 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)
S&P for seasoning the chicken
1 onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp capers, drained
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 - 2 C chicken broth
fresh basil, finely chopped (to top the chicken after serving)

In large skillet with high edges, heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper on all sides, and put in the pan. Sear the chicken on all sides (about 3 minutes per side) until a nice golden brown. Remove chicken from pan. (I have to do mine in batches)

With the pan still over medium-high heat, put the rest of your oil in the pan. Add the onions and bell peppers and sautee until onions are translucent. Add in mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Add in garlic and stir until it smells awesome :) Add in tomatoes and capers and stir.

Place the chicken back into the pan. Add chicken stock. Bring it to a simmer, then turn heat down to low (I let mine about medium since I was cooking a lot of chicken and wanted it done) and let simmer for about 30 minutes. You want the chicken at an internal temp of 160 F.


This was so yummy. Almost everybody loved it. I saw almost everybody because my 13 year old did not. But she pretty much doesn't like anything unless it's chocolate, so I don't really worry about it when she doesn't like a meal.

Oh! Also, we served it over zucchini noodles. Just added to the yum factor. 

Enjoy! And go buy that book. It's awesome.