Chicken Puntanesca

Here is the recipe that proves we can live without pasta! It is totally and completely possible and quite yummy to boot. Just make a quick sauce and put it over chicken (or steak) instead of noodles. This is another one of those blink and it's done dishes. I'm in love with those, especially on nights like this. I knew that I was going to make chicken "something". I had made about four runs at the kitchen to try to make dinner but the more I tried, the more my efforts were thwarted.

One of my sons is nonverbal. His way of communicating is to look at me, take me by the hand, and lead me to what he wants. Trust me, we are celebrating that he is doing this... it's a huge accomplishment. So tonight was one of those nights where every time I tried to make dinner he would come in and take me by the hand and off we'd go. We played on the trampoline, I pushed him on the swing, we had a wrestling match. All the while dinner was falling further and further behind, but you know, who really cares when you've got the most important part of your life right in front of you trying like heck to communicate. He is awesome and I love him dearly. So my point is the later it got, the less time I had to come up with something. The idea of a beautiful bounty soon turned into whatever I could make that was fast and simple.

I love strong flavors so consider yourself warned. This one is not for sissies. The flavor is as intense as it is delicious. This is true paleo cooking at it's finest. So good, you will never know that it's healthy. And it's true Primal Mama cooking. So fast, dinner is on the table in 15 minutes.

Feel free to adjust the amounts of ingredients to your liking. I hope you love it!

What you'll need:

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

10 kalamata olives, rough chopped

1 large (or 2 small) cans diced tomato, low salt!

1 T. capers, rinse them off to get some of the salt off

chicken breasts

What you do:

Start by cutting through the chicken breast to make two thin pieces out of one breast. Pound the thicker end slightly to form a chicken cutlet. Throw a little cracked pepper on both sides. Saute the chicken on the stove top in a little olive oil until cooked through and remove to a plate. Using the same pan, add a little more olive oil if necessary and throw in your garlic and olives. Give that a good stir for about a minute and be careful not to burn the garlic. Add in the can(s) of tomatoes and mix. Get the flame going on high and stir until the tomato liquid is absorbed and you are left with a thick tomato sauce. Toss in the capers. The smell of this dish alone will cause you to fall in love immediately. Plate the chicken and pour the sauce on top. You have just made a wonderful meal in 15 minutes flat. No drive thru, no chicken nuggets, no "cream of god knows what" soup needed! And most of all... no pasta!

Enjoy!