Chicken Chilindron-Spanish Cuisine

Let me start off by saying this recipe is pretty much fool-proof.  I made this today for the first time and I absolutely LOVED it.  I must add, I did make some adjustments due to the fact that I don't have access to Spanish Serrano ham nor did I have a bottle of dry white wine handy, but it was still delicious. And at less than $20.00 to prepare, this chicken dish is sure to make it to your weekly menu.

You will need:

• 1 Whole organic chicken cut into pieces
• 5 strips of bacon (cut into 1" pieces)
• 1 Red bell pepper (bell peppers cut into 1" cubes)
• 1 Green bell pepper
• 1 Yellow bell pepper
• 2 large vine rippen tomatoes (peeled and diced)
• 1 Large onion (roughly cut)
• 3 Cloves of garlic (finely minced)
• 1 Cup organic chicken stock
• 2 Bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Start off by cutting bacon into 1"pieces and placing them into a large sauté pan on medium heat.  Once bacon is crispy, remove and reserve in separate container and set the pan to medium high heat.  Cut chicken into pieces and season it generously with salt and pepper.  Place cut up whole chicken into the pan and pan fry it until each piece is almost cooked thoroughly.  Once you've browned the chicken, place it in a separate container and add the bell peppers and onions into the pan.  Sauté the peppers and onions until they are soft and then add the finely minced garlic.  Once the juice from the peppers and onions has evaporated, add the diced peeled tomatoes into the pan, sauté for about 5-7 minutes until their juice has also evaporated.  At this point, add the bay leaves, chicken stock, chicken pieces and bacon back into the pan.  Reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer for 45-60 minutes.

I really hope you give this dish a try.  It truly is delicious.

Note:

To peel the tomatoes, make an "X"cut on the base of the tomatoes with a paring knife and submerge them into boiling water for 60 seconds each.  After that, place them into a cold water bath and they should be pretty easy to peel.