Chicken in Tomatoes

Does your family have a recipe book or cookbook where all the family recipes are shared and passed down from generation to generation? Mine doesn't. I have a few recipes from each grandmother and an aunt. I have a few recipes that I learned from my mom and a bunch that I came up with on my own or adapted from a recipe I found. Most of them are not written down anywhere. How is my daughter, or my sons for that matter, supposed to be able to replicate the things they enjoyed eating at home while growing up?

I started this blog as a way to share pieces of my life with those who care to read it. I have shared a few recipes here. I realized the other night that searching this blog is not how I want my family to have to find their prized family recipes. I have decided to start a family cookbook. I wish to gather recipes from family members, try to recall and recreate some beloved things I had at my Mamaw's house as a child, add my own recipes in and bind it together so all family members can have the collection in one easy place to reference.

In the meantime, I will share my Chicken in Tomatoes with you. Several years ago, I had a unique craving for a dish I used to have at my Mamaw's house (my mom's mom). My mom is one of seven children....and the only girl. You would think she would have all these recipes. Nope. Apparently, my mamaw didn't record a lot of her recipes. Trips to my Mamaw and Papaw's house were always fun and always interesting. Sometimes we just went for a visit with them. Sometimes it was a large family gathering with most or all of my aunts and uncles and cousins. My mamaw did not know how to prepare a meal for just a couple of people. There was always a HUGE spread of food including, several main dishes, a bunch of vegetables/side dishes, from scratch biscuits and/or cornbread, and a number of desserts. My favorite desserts were her fried pies and peanut butter cookies. My mamaw always allowed me to eat dessert first at her house. No matter how much my mother protested. . Ummm. Seems I got a little off track there. Back to the chicken dish. It was one of my favorites. It's a little unique and I had never had a dish like it and have never since......until I decided to try to figure it out. Mom and I discussed what we thought was in the dish and about how we thought it was prepared and I got to work. Several tries later, I felt like I nailed it. I don't prepare it exactly the way Mamaw did, but it tastes like Saturday afternoon at Mamaw's table to me. So, Mamaw's untitled recipe is now "Chicken in Tomatoes".

This is not a photo filled recipe. There is only one. And it's not pretty. Chicken in Tomatoes is not a "pretty" dish. But, it sure is yummy.

What you'll need:

*Boneless, skinless chicken thighs - please don't substitute chicken breast. The thighs really make this dish!

*1-2 large cans of crushed tomatoes

*salt and pepper

*1-3 Tbsp sugar

*butter and/or olive oil

That's it. You won't believe how simple this is, yet it tastes soooooo gooood!

I am usually feeding five of us, so I use somewhere between 10-12 chicken thighs.

Begin by melting a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large skillet on medium to medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to keep the butter from burning. You can just use olive oil if you don't want to use butter. OR, skip that mess altogether and just use ghee! Place the chicken thighs in the skillet, leaving a little room between each one. Don't crowd them. You want to sear the thighs, sealing in the juices. Once you have seared both sides of all chicken thighs (I usually have to do this step in two batches), remove them to a plate. Add the crushed tomatoes to the skillet. I use two cans for 10-12 thighs. As the tomatoes heat and begin to bubble, scrape the bottom of the skillet (don't scrape if you are using non-stick cookware) with your wooden spoon (etc.). This helps remove all the yummy bits of chicken that are stuck to the pan. Add the chicken thighs back to the pan. Season with a little pepper and salt (optional - you won't miss it if you leave it out), Add 1-3 tablespoons of sugar, depending on the size of your dish. I used three for about 12 thighs. The sugar helps remove the metal taste found in canned tomatoes. If you are using fresh or home canned tomatoes, cut the amount of sugar to about 1/2. The sugar is what makes this dish. I'm not sure exactly what it does, but the outcome is delicious. Cover the skillet and turn heat down. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer it cooks, the better, Remove the lid after at least 30 minutes and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes to reduce/thicken the sauce. 

That's it! Simple AND delicious. I hope you enjoy this recipe.