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Here is a quick Chicken Cacciatore Bake inspired by my love for Chicken Cacciatore!  This version is very easy to make and doesn’t take as much time as my traditional Chicken Caccaitore dish.  Stayed tuned for my more traditional Chicken Cacciatore some time soon!

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped into medium size pieces
• 1 to 2 green peppers chopped into medium size pieces
• 6 to 8 slices of mozzarella cheese or 1 to 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• homemade or store bought marinara sauce (see my homemade marinara sauce below)

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350
2. Cut the chicken breasts in half or in thirds and spread out in a baking dish
3. Scatter the chopped onions and green peppers over dish evenly
4. Pour marinara sauce over the chicken, onions and green peppers enough to coat everything, but not too much where it will flow over baking dish
5. Cut 6 to 8 slices of mozzarella and place them over the top
6. Place baking dish in oven and cook for 40-45 minutes.
7. Serve by itself or over your favorite pasta.
8. Save some marinara sauce on the side to put more over the top if you like a lot of extra sauce.
9. For all you cheese lovers, add Parmesan cheese on top once you have plated the pasta and chicken cacciatore bake.

My Basic Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• One 35 oz. can of tomato puree
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 dry bay leaves
• Fresh thyme and oregano to taste or if you don’t have fresh herbs use dried Italian seasoning to taste
• 1 to 2 teaspoons red chili flakes (optional)
• 1/2 to 1 cup grated or puree of carrots (optional)
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Add a splash of olive oil and garlic to a sauce pan at medium heat for about a minute (be careful not to burn)
2. Add tomato puree and all the other ingredients
3. Cover and cook on low for approximately 40-60 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and take out bay leaves.
5. Use immediately or refrigerate.

I like my marinara sauce spicy, but you do not have to put the red chili flakes in it.  The carrots sweeten the sauce.  I don’t always use carrots, but they do add a nice flavor if you have the time to grate or puree the carrots.

Some people like chopped onions in their marinara sauce, but I usually never put it in my basic marinara sauce.  It depends on what I am using the marinara sauce for.  For my chicken cacciatore bake, it already has onions in it so I do not need to add more into the sauce itself.