Abbie's Italian Chicken Special

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Chicken breasts [that's 4-6 fillets]
• 2 cups, Tomato Paste
• 3 cups, square chopped Green Bell Peppers
• 3 cups, square chopped Onions
• 3 cups, square chopped Tomatoes
• 2 cups, Mushrooms [I used a can]
• Italian seasoning [combination of oregano, thyme, rosemary]
• 1 tablespoon, Salt
• Paprika/Red chili powder, to taste
• 1 tablespoon, coarse black pepper
• 3 cups, flour [I used white whole wheat flour]
• Vegetable oil

SPECIAL ITALIAN CHICKEN UP!

1. In a large flat dish - preferably glass - add flour, salt, paprika, black pepper powder, and 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning. Mix these well to create a good flour blend.

2. In a large cooking pot, heat 1 cup oil to medium-high heat [good for frying chicken].

3. Dry excess moisture from the chicken breasts by drying them out on a paper towel.

4. Dredge each chicken fillet well in the flour blend so that no pink part is left uncovered. Used your hands or tongs to hold the chicken.

5. Lay the chicken in the hot oil to fry - about a good 3 minutes each side until browned - in the pot while you continue dredging and transferring the other fillets.

6. Once both sides of all fillets have browned, transfer them back into a clean glass bowl or plate and set aside while you prepare the sauce for simmer cooking the chicken.

7. To the same oil used for frying the chicken, add bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms and fry for a good one minute. I like coating all the veggies in the flour blend as well - before frying - because that Italian seasoning is delicious and the flour adds a rich, creamy texture to the sauce.

8. After the veggies are done frying, add tomato paste, a teaspoon of more Italian seasoning, some more salt [check taste for saltiness], a teaspoon of black pepper powder, and red chili according to how hot you want the dish to be. Stir everything well and allow the tomato sauce to cook until the tomato red color changes to a darker shade. 

9. Add water once the tomato sauce has begun to leave oil. Fill up enough water to thin out the sauce to a slightly liquid consistency but still creamy [not runny]. 

10. Add the chicken pieces but do not dip them in to keep the flour crust intact. Cover and cook on medium simmer until chicken is well cooked.

11. Sometimes, the chicken may be undercooked and you can slice the fillets up at the point in the pan to cook the chunks evenly. Mine cooked great and I pulled out whole breast pieces just right. 

12. But for the second time, maybe the flour coating became too thick - so I sliced the chicken up!