Chicken with Tomato Sauce and Provolone

I wanted to cook a nice lunch for my friend. Her favorite dish is chicken parmesan. This is my adaptation to that. It turned out really nice. The chicken was juicy. The tomato sauce was tangy with a bit of sweetness from the honey. The provolone was gooey and not overpowering. Served with a side of green beans (and very SCD illegal garlic bread and pasta for her).

Chicken with Tomato Sauce and Provolone

Ingredients

•   1.5 – 2 pounds skinless chicken breasts. 3 breasts total would be best.
•   Italian seasoning
•   Salt/Pepper
•   6 slices thick provolone cheese
•   Olive Oil
•   1 28 oz can legal diced tomatoes or 28 oz fresh
•   ½ onion diced
•   6 cloves minced garlic
•   Honey (Optional)


Directions
In a large pot start the tomato sauce. Sauté onion in olive oil until soft about 4-5 minutes. I sprinkle a little salt. Add garlic and cook 3 more minutes. Add diced tomatoes, 2 TBS of Italian seasoning, 1 TSP salt/pepper, stir well and cook over medium heat. When it begins to bubble, lower the heat to medium low and cover. Stir often and taste and add additional spices if necessary.
Meanwhile, heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat. I vertically cut the chicken breasts in half to make them thinner. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian season on both sides. Pour enough oil in your skillet to cover the bottom (about 1-2 TBS). When the oil is hot, place the chicken in the skillet and cook 3 – 4 minutes per side or until just browned. Remove to a oven safe dish that is big enough to accommodate the chicken but all the pieces need to fit tightly in there. Cook the chicken 20 minutes or until the juices run clear.
Taste your tomato sauce. If it’s a little bitter, add a drizzle of honey until it tastes right. If you like it chunky, leave it as is. Otherwise, blend with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. The liquid will be hot so leave the middle out of the top of the blender and cover the hole with a thick towel or the lid could blow off from the pressure of the steam from the hot liquid and puree until the consistency you want. If you want your tomato sauce a little thicker, you could cook it 20 or so minutes over medium heat with the lid off the pan. Stirring often.
Spoon tomato sauce over the chicken (about 2 TBS per breast). Layer the provolone cheese on top. Bake at 350 until the cheese is bubbly.
Serve the remaining sauce with the chicken or with zucchini noodles. Or save for the Spaghetti Squash and Tomato Torte or use as a pizza sauce. Tomato sauce is very versatile

Green Beans with Bacon
Ingredients
3-4 slice bacon
1 16 oz bag frozen fresh green beans (or fresh)
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Boil a pot of salted water. Once to a rolling boil, add the green beans and cook 5 - 7 minutes or until just crisp tender and very green. Remove immediately to a colander and strain. Rinse with cold water.
In the same pot, fry your bacon until done to your liking. Add green beans. If your bacon rendered too much fat, you can remove some. You want about 2 tablespoons of fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring often for about 20 minutes. Taste about halfway through to see if you need to add more salt and pepper. You can add onion or garlic of both to the dish which would taste awesome. A little fresh or dried thyme would be good too. You want the beans to be soft and done. I call them smothered beans.

This was a super successful lunch for both me and my non SCD friend and her children. Now, I just need to try it with my child. She loves my homemade tomato sauce though, so I'm sure it will be a hit.