Speedy Meals: Greek Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives

 I love Mediterranean flavors, so I was drawn to this recipe from a chapter of my favorite cookbook, Fresh Every Day, called "Quick and Tasty Main Meat Dishes." It turns out that this dish is super simple to whip up, but it does require some planning ahead as the chicken needs to marinate all day or overnight.

Marinade:
1 cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or two teaspoons dried oregano if you don't have the it fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Combine in a bowl and pour marinade over 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves. Let it marinate in the fridge overnight or while at work.

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoon olive oil (I used lemon infused olive oil for a tangy twist)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 small onion, diced
4 tomatoes, cored and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pitted and sliced Greek olives (we agreed it could use even more)
6 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
2 ounces of feta cheese, cubed (optional)

Directions:
Heat olive oil and butter in a large (non-stick) pan over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Remove chicken from the marinade, reserving marinade to make the sauce, and place chicken breasts on the skillet. Cook the chicken breast for 4 minutes on each side, or until just starting to brown.

(No need to cook all the way through here as you will be simmering chicken breasts in sauce later in the recipe. Overcooking at this step will lead to tough chicken. Boo.) Transfer browned chicken breasts to a plate loosely covered in tin foil while you use the same pan to prepare the sauce.

Add the diced onion and tomatoes to the same pan that you cooked the chicken in, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the onions are translucent and the tomatoes are soft and have released their liquid, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and sautee for a minute more.

Add the reserved marinade and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 2-5 minutes.

Return chicken to the pan with the olives and basil. Simmer on low for 6-8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve chicken and veggie sauce over rice to soak up all that yummy sauce. (If using feta, add at this step.)

My mission is to try this dish in the crock pot next time. I will let you know how it goes. Until then, enjoy!