Braised Chicken & Vegetables

I love making things up from what I have on hand, and last night was no exception. I had a bunch of chicken and some vegetables that needed using up...waste not, want not!

So I got to thinking about how I could use them, and decided to just bang them all together and cook in the one pot, except for the creamy mashed potatoes I made to accompany it. You've got to love one pot cooking, less dishes. So here is my lazy weeknight meal for the family.

• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 kg Chicken Pieces, or 1 whole Chicken cut up
• 1 large Brown Onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
• Handful of Mushrooms, thickly sliced
• Handful of Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp Fresh Thyme, leaves stripped from the stem
• 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 x 400 gram tin of mixed Beans (butter beans, chick-peas, kidney beans, cannellini)
• 2 cups of Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• Salt/Pepper

Pre heat the oven to 180°C

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a heavy based oven proof cooking pot over a medium heat and brown the chicken pieces in batches until nicely golden in colour. Remove to a plate or bowl.

Heat the remaining oil and fry the onion, garlic and thyme, stirring for 3 or 4 minutes or until soft.

Add the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute, stirring continuously.

Add the mushrooms and return the chicken to the pot and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and place into oven.

After about 1 hour, remove from the oven and skim off any excess oil from the surface/around the chicken and add the beans and tomatoes, taste and season with salt and pepper. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes to half an hour.

Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and crusty bread.