Pantry Chicken and Beans
Speaking of canned beans, which apparently you're not supposed to have in the pantry, I decided to use up some of mine the other day.
I'm currently on a mission to use up everything in the pantry before I replenish. There is a staggering amount of stuff in my pantry, as I may have already mentioned. The Chestnut said it resembled Stop and Shop. Almost anything you could possibly want, is in there, and after reading the piece I posted a few days ago, I'm now getting rid of it all.
I improvised an Italian chicken and bean dish, which was delicious, and know that nothing is essential, use what you have, and play around. No olives? No worries. I happened to have all the ingredients to hand, but even just beans, tomatoes, and chili would be delicious.
Pantry Chicken and Beans
(serves 6)
6 Chicken Breasts
3 cans beans. I used chick peas, black beans, and have in the past used kidney beans, lima beans.
1 can diced tomatoes
dried chili
5 sun dried tomatoes, snipped up
handful of black olives, stoned and cut in half (no jokes about smoking, please...)
4 or 5 anchovies, snipped up
3 garlic cloves
small tomatoes on the vine, if you have them. Completely inessential, but pretty if you do.
Pre-heat oven to 350.
Oil a casserole dish, pour beans in (rinsing first in a colander)
Add rest of ingredients, bar chicken and tomatoes on the vine, and fold in, careful not to break the beans.
Add tomatoes.
Roast off in oven for around 25 minutes, until tomatoes soften and starts to smell delicious.
Add chicken breasts (if they are chicken breasts with skin, you can brown the skin side in a skillet first),
Back in oven for around 30 minutes more, until chicken is done.
Garnish with chopped parsley if you have any.
I would also add some finely sliced prosciutto or pancetta if you had some handy...
I have a friend who for Lent doesn't "give up" anything, but refuses to go to the grocery store (except for milk and bread and eggs) until she uses everything in her pantry and freezer. Its a nice idea.
I have a friend who for Lent doesn't "give up" anything, but refuses to go to the grocery store (except for milk and bread and eggs) until she uses everything in her pantry and freezer. Its a nice idea.
As a woman who never knows what's for dinner until it's time to make it, a pantry without canned beans would be a nightmare. I'm with him on a lot of the other items, but I can't live without canned beans or dried basil (fresh is too expensive 9 months out of the year, and I can't grow it here or I would).
As a woman who never knows what's for dinner until it's time to make it, a pantry without canned beans would be a nightmare. I'm with him on a lot of the other items, but I can't live without canned beans or dried basil (fresh is too expensive 9 months out of the year, and I can't grow it here or I would).
Love the recipe. Will try it tonight, but with freshly boiled beans. If you have more canned beans, try making a bolognese sauce and serving it with the beans. Delicious!
Love the recipe. Will try it tonight, but with freshly boiled beans. If you have more canned beans, try making a bolognese sauce and serving it with the beans. Delicious!