Tuscan Chicken Stew

Here's another easy, one skillet meal. When I chose the recipe, I felt like I'd made it before, but once it was done, I didn't recognize it at all. So it ended up being something new for everyone to try out. I don't know where the original recipe came from and it doesn't matter; it was really poorly written and I found myself bumbling through cooking. I was afraid I'd left out ingredients. Even if I did, the stew came out perfectly.

Tuscan Chicken Stew

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp smashed garlic

1/2 cup reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth

1 (15 1/2 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 (7-oz) bottle roasted red bell pepper, drained and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3 1/2 cups baby spinach

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and rosemary; sauté for about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1 minute.

2. Add the broth, beans, and peppers; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in spinach; simmer 1 minute. Serve with drop biscuits.

The Verdict: Very flavorful and fragrant. I loved the use of roasted red pepper instead of the diced tomato you might have expected. And, as usual, I loved that it was an easy, one-pot meal.

My husband enjoyed it as well; our son tolerated it with his distrust of obvious vegetables. But it had chicken and beans, and a meat and a legume will always work when it comes to him.

In addition to the stew, we also had Pillsbury Simply...Buttermilk Biscuits. These might only be available in the States, but let me tell you, I was quite excited about this find. I largely dislike pre-packaged foods, especially baked goods as they're chock full of transfats. While these have no wheat flour, something I prefer, they don't have transfats, high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors. It begs the question why they can't do this for everything; why there has to be a separate line of foods that cost more. But regardless, I was happy to find them. My apologies for singing the praises of different food products lately; I just feel like if there's a good thing out there, we should all know about it.

But the chicken stew: fast, delicious, easy. A nice stew for a cold night.