Eating healthy

First, I wanted to put some pictures of a rainbow that appeared outside our back door. We have beautiful rainbows here. I think it's because we're surrounded by hills, which hold low-hanging rain clouds when the sun comes out. We're supposed to get some rain Sunday, which is almost unheard of here in Southern California.

I'm not sure if it's because of the persistent fog that's been hugging the beaches for the past few weeks -- we went straight from rainy weather to fog and, now, back to rain. But the sun has been as scare as it's ever been sine I moved here. That and the fact the Rob and I are fighting colds, me with more success than he, has made us feel health conscious, or at least fatalistic enough to realize that we need to worry about what we eat. That's not to say that we eat fried foods when the sun is out, but gloomy days make me want comfort food -- healthy comfort food.

So I whipped up some chicken cacciatore. I love this dish. It's easy to make. Inexpensive. Healthy and tasty. I serve it with Dreamfields pasta, which cuts the effective carbs and makes pasta a great, low-fat addition to any dish. I toss the pasta with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese.

Chicken cacciatore

1 package of six chicken thighs
3 tablespoons canola oil
garlic powder
onion powder
pepper
1 large bell pepper coarsely chopped
1 onion coarsely chopped
1 pint mushrooms, sliced
1 large can Progresso crushed tomatoes with added puree (don't use the flavored purees)
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons dried oregano

Heat oil in non reactive skillet or Dutch oven. Sprinkle chicken thighs with garlic and onion powders and pepper. Brown on both sides in oil. Which thighs are golden brown, add peppers, onions and mushrooms and cook until starting to soften. Drain extra oil. Add tomatoes bay leaves and oregano. Simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes. Serve with pasta.