Chicken Scarpiella

This is a fantastic recipe that I think is my new favorite! Jason really loved it also (and I don't think that he was just excited that this recipe doesn't have mushrooms!). While it takes a little while to make and does involve a little bit of prep it's well worth every ounce of effort! And by the way, does anyone know how to say the second part of the recipe name? If so, please post a comment to enlighten me because I say it differently every time I say it and I'm pretty sure every time I'm wrong!

Chicken Scarpiella

Makes 4 Servings

4 fully cooked Italian or Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 12 oz)

1 large sweet onion, peeled, halved, and cut into 1/2 inch rings

2 green Bell Peppers, about 1 pound, cored, seeded, and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

4 hot cherry peppers, trimmed, seeds removed, and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 T olive oil

3/4 t Dried Italian Seasoning

1/2 t Salt

1/4 plus 1/8 t Black Pepper

1 package Chicken Breasts

1/2 c Chicken Broth

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large roasting pan, combine sausage, onion, green peppers, potatoes, cherry peppers, and garlic. Add olive oil and toss together. Season with 1/2 t of Italian Seasoning, 1/4 t of Salt, and 1/4 t of pepper. Place on lower rack of oven. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken in dish and season with remaining 1/4 t Italin Seasoning, 1/4 t Salt, and 1/8 t Pepper. Pour broth into bottom of dish. Once sausage mixture has baked for 10 minuts, add chicken to oven on top rack. Bake both dishes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of chicken reads 160 degres and potatoes are fork tender. Stir vegetables twice during baking.

3. Add chicken to vegetables; cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken registers 170 degress.

Helpful hints:

- I left out the onion because Jason's not a big fan and we didn't miss it

- I left out the hot cherry peppers for me (and because I didn't have time to find them at the grocery store!) and we didn't miss them

- Instead of garlic cloves I just sprinkled minced garlic over the veggies. I know that real garlic would probably make it taste better, but it was pretty good anyway!

- I definitely didn't measure out my spices but instead just used my judgment to approximate the measurements.

- I only left the chicken cooking for 20 minutes separate from the veggies and then cooked the chicken with veggies another 8 minutes instead of 30 minutes plus another 5-10. This will depend on the temperature of your oven and how big your chicken pieces and potatoes are, but you'll need to watch everything at the end because it can be ready quicker than the recipe says!

If you make this, please let me know how it turns out! I want to know if everyone loves this as much as we do!