This Easy Skillet Chicken Ratatouille is as much a cooking technique, as a recipe. When we’re stressed out we need easy, not a complicated recipe to follow. This go-to dish has been in heavy rotation. It’s as easy as 1,2,3!
- Sear meat.
- Saute veg.
- Combine and finish in the oven.
A little bit of lean protein on a bed of savory ratatouille. Here I am using boneless, skinless chicken breasts and you could also use fish filets or a turkey tenderloin. Same process, different results. Easy.
This issue also shares
- The Best Life Living Tip: How a Thermometer Will Change How You Cook 🌡️
- The Self-Care Technique: Slow Down to Keep Up 🐌
- Ideas and Inspiration: Leadership in Action with Chef Katie Button 🔪
Read on for more — including this very simple and tasty winner-winner chicken dinner.
Best Life Living Tip
Save yourself some serious stress and get a good thermometer.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are low in fat and calories. If overcooked, they are dry as the Sahara and tough as shoe leather.
The key to cooking boneless, skinless chicken is to cook it perfectly. Simple, right? For this, you need a good thermometer.
The thermometer many, many professionals prefer is ThermoWorks. Check out what America’s Test Kitchen has to say. I’m not an affiliate and this is not sponsored. I am purely a big fan! They are worth every penny.
Cook the chicken for this Easy Skillet Chicken Ratatouille to exactly 160°F and you will have juicy, tender chicken every time.
You can do it!
Self Care Technique
The stress has been real. Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast. People are displaced due to the storm, there’s an immense tragedy in North Carolina, parts of Florida were flattened and the storm mowed through swaths of Georgia and South Carolina like a wet weedwhacker.
And yet most of us are still expected to continue with our daily lives like nothing has changed.
Even if you were not directly affected, catastrophic events like this can impact your mental health. When you can’t keep up, instead of running even faster, what you have to do is slow things down.
Here are Five Quick Ways on How to Slow Things Down.
(For more check the full list from the University of Colorado)
1. Breathe
Slow, deep breaths can help lower blood pressure and heart rate.2. Listen to Music
Check out “Angel Music” to get super calm. Some folks believe certain frequencies to be associated with the energy of the ascended angels and the music associated with guidance and spiritual growth. (I don’t know about that — but I do know it helps calm me down!)3. Take a Walk
When you’re feeling overwhelmed or having trouble concentrating, go for a quick stroll around the block. You’ll get the benefits of alone time, physical activity, and a few minutes to gather your thoughts.4. Find the Sun
If it’s a sunny day, head outside for an easy way to lift your spirits. Bright light can be an effective treatment for people who suffer from depression, and can even cheer up otherwise healthy people.5. Give Yourself a Hand Massage
Try DIYing a hand massage for instant relaxation that calms a pounding heart. Hands in general can carry a lot of tension.
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Ideas and Inspiration
Chef Katie Button has long been someone I admire. She’s an incredible award-winning chef and restauranteur. She’s nice. Her food is amazing. I am a huge fan. She lives in Asheville and is part of the leadership helping feed the homeless and displaced. Her restaurants now are hosting the team on the ground for World Central Kitchen.
Asheville and the greater Western North Carolina area took a massive hit from the powerful storm, which left many businesses without electricity, water, and usable roads. Although many chefs and restaurant owners like Katie (and my dear friend William Dissen aka @chefbillyd) are in a terrible situation, they, along with other members of the food community, are rallying to help their community.
There’s one thing about being in hospitality– you want to feed people. Always.
She reports the F&B community makes up roughly 12% of Asheville’s workforce. All of these folks – chefs, cooks, servers, bussers, bartenders are out of work — and will be for a long while.
Give her a follow on IG @chefkatiebuttons and you can find out more about how to help here.
Point it Out
Speaking of stress…. The lies flowing like water have me on edge. Please make sure you are registered to vote. Even if you think you are, make sure to check your voter registration.
If you need a distraction and more recipes like this one, I have several upcoming events in the Atlanta area in the next few months with more on the way. 😉 Check out my events page and you can also sign up for the free once-a-week newsletter (just like the one you are reading)
I am thrilled with the AJC review
” …Life changes prompted her to re-evaluate every recipe in her well-worn copy of the book closest to her heart, and reflect which — if given the opportunity to do over — she would modify, replace, or leave as is…For all the additions and refinements, the Southern accent in the latest generation of “Bon Appetit, Y’all” comes through as clear as ever.”
Take care of yourself. Try to eat healthy — recipes like this Easy Skillet Chicken Ratatouille are great. At less than 400 calories this ratatouille is Good and Good for You! Make sure to get some fresh air.
Bon Appétit, Y’all
Virginia Willis
PS Here’s another one of my go-to chicken recipes for you to try — Zero Point Chicken Chili!
Easy Skillet Chicken Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon pure olive oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ onion sliced
- 1 zucchini sliced
- 1 small eggplant sliced
- 4 to 6 small peppers halved horizontal
- 4 to 6 okra halved horizontal (optional)
- 1 large tomato cored and chopped (or a handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved)
- 4 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 bay leaf preferably fresh
- ½ cup cooked brown rice or ¼ cup for 1 person
- 8 black olives
- 1/4 cup fresh parley leaves, optional
- 1/2 oz freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook until seared, on one side, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until seared on the other side, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- You should have some brown bits in the pan. Add the onion and continue to cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add the other vegetables. If I am using eggplant, I usually start it first because it takes a little longer. If I am using okra, I add it at the very end so it remains very lightly cooked. Add the other vegetables, bay leaf, and rice; stir to combine.
- Add the olives and stir to combine. Place the seared breasts on top. Transfer to the oven and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F and the juices run clear when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes.
- Serve with chicken and ratatouille topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
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