Chicken with Fennel

So, in an effort to eat better, the other night I made a Weight Watcher's Recipe called Chicken with Fennel and Olives. The original recipe is here.

We all thought this was pretty good. It wasn't "oh my god!" good, but good.

I like fennel, it's crunchy and has a nice flavor. I had never cooked with it before - I had only had it when other people prepared it.

This is what fennel looks like. When I mentioned to some people in my office that I was going to make something with fennel they either didn't know what it was or thought it was a spice.


Ingredients:

3 tsp olive oil
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, halved crosswise
3/4 pound(s) fennel bulb(s)
1 small onion(s), thinly sliced
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 cup(s) canned chicken broth
16 oz canned Italian style stewed tomatoes, in juice
1/4 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
8 medium olive(s), black, pitted and sliced

Instructions:
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Saute chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate.

Meanwhile, trim feathery sprigs from fennel. Finely chop and set aside 2 tablespoons. Halve and thinly slice bulb.

In skillet, heat remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.

Saute fennel bulb, onion and garlic until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and fennel sprigs. Bring to a simmer, then return chicken to skillet. Cook, covered, until chicken is heated through and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in olives and serve.

I served this with roasted broccoli, onion and garlic. Bailey can't get enough of this whenever I make it. I just chop up the broccoli and onion into bite size pieces and add some whole garlic clove. I put this onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper (love this - no clean up for the cookie sheet!). I drizzle some olive oil over it and sprinkle with salt and pepper and put it in a 425' oven for about 30 minutes or so. At least once during the cooking I take the pan out of the oven and stir the veggies around.

You can see them in the picture below.

The chicken with fennel was only 4 Weigh Watchers points - not bad at all for a main dish, and it was pretty easy to make.