Chicken with Peppers, Zucchini, and Tomatoes

Chicken with Garden-Fresh Veggies

Recipe by Bruce

Even in marriages with no particular gender roles, a woman is lucky if her husband likes to cook and is good at it. And if her husband can improvise with ingredients on hand, and even does the dishes, it doesn’t get much better. To quote the movie Footloose, “Let’s hear it for the boy!”

My husband Bruce created this recipe a few years back when we had lots of tomatoes from our garden and squash from our neighbor Dana’s garden. Since we’re still getting small end-of-the-season dry-farmed tomatoes and the ubiquitous leeks, I picked up some peppers and zucchini at the Watsonville Farmers Market where I was playing music last Friday, expecting to make this recipe myself. But instead, Bruce cooked it again, so I was free to photograph and blog. 

Armenian Bell Peppers

The pepper farmer at the Market grows several kinds of sweet and hot peppers, and I asked him which would be best with chicken, zucchini, and tomatoes. Without hesitation he said the Armenian bell peppers. I had never heard of them before. He was right, they are more flavorful than the usual green bells and combine deliciously with tomatoes. Many hot peppers look a lot like the Armenian bells (see photo), so be sure to ask if they aren’t clearly marked.

You can use either dry or fresh herbs, except the basil, which adds a fresh green accent as well as its unique taste. Fresh herbs will taste better, and you can double the quantities if you substitute them.

Chop Up and Group All Ingredients First

Bruce’s Italian-Inspired Chicken

serves 6 - 8

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 cups sweet peppers

2 cups zucchini

1 cup tomatoes

1 cup leeks (2 small or 1 medium)

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 tbsp. finely chopped basil

1 tsp. dry thyme

1 tsp. dry marjoram

1 tsp. dry oregano

Slice up all veggies in ¼ “  x 1” slices, or chop into equal sizes however you like. Run garlic through garlic press.

Heat olive oil in electric frying pan at 350 degrees F. When a drop of water in the pan sizzles, add chicken, salt, and pepper. Cook 4 minutes. Turn chicken over and cook another 4 minutes or until brown.

Lifting the Chicken on Top of the Veggies

Add zucchini, leeks, and peppers. Lift chicken up on top of the veggies, cook 2 minutes. Move veggies aside to make an empty spot in the pan and add garlic. Cook and stir garlic 1 minute.

Add tomatoes (and dry herbs if using), stir and cook about 2 minutes. Add basil (and other herbs if fresh), stir in and cook 1 minute.