Chicken and Bell Pepper Skillet

It never fails to amaze me how you can throw seemingly random things into a skillet, add some seasonings, and come up with a tasty dinner. When I put this one together, I had actually set out to make a frittata using some fresh spinach, but it turned out I didn't have nearly as many eggs as I thought and running to the store wasn't an option. Luckily, I was easily able to turn it into a sort of stir-fry instead.

I started out with very basic ingredients: chicken breast, vegetables, and minimal seasoning. If you don't have Maggi seasoning you can use soy sauce instead, but I really prefer Maggi for its depth of flavour. Everything else was chosen for its contribution to the colour and texture of the meal.

I started by heating some olive oil in a large skillet, then adding cubed chicken to it. I let the chicken cook while I diced the onion and minced some garlic, then put them all in together. At this point I also added the ginger and garlic-pepper. It took about 10 minutes for the chicken to be browned with no pink bits showing.

You can use whatever mushrooms you prefer, but I happened to have some mini bellas in the fridge so I sliced them and tossed them in. Bellas take a bit longer than white mushrooms to cook, so I added them before the other vegetables, along with some Maggi. If you're using mushrooms that cook faster, I'd add them later. I let them cook for about 5 minutes before adding more things.

To save myself time and since the package I owned allowed for it, I microwaved the broccoli for 5 minutes before adding it. If you're using fresh broccoli, you'll definitely want to steam it before adding it or it'll remain too raw. At this point I also added more Maggi seasoning, then covered and let cook for about 7-8 minutes.

Once the vegetables were done, I tossed in a handful or so of peanuts for crunch, and left the cover off to allow some of the excess liquid to steam away. I didn't really pay much attention to how long I let it cook, but it was less than 5 minutes.

We skipped serving it over rice to save on carbs, but you can certainly feel free to do so if you wish. I didn't feel it needed any more seasoning, but that's up to your taste. From the time I started gathering ingredients to the time I sat down to eat, I was probably in the kitchen about 45 minutes.

Chicken and Bell Pepper Skillet

Serves 6

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

3/4 cup yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon garlic-pepper seasoning

8 ounces mini bella mushrooms, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 (12 ounce) package frozen broccoli, cooked

3 tablespoons Maggi seasoning, divided

1/4 cup Spanish peanuts

Heat oil in a large skillet; add chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, and garlic-pepper seasoning and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink (about 10 minutes).

Add mushrooms and 2 tablespoons Maggi and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add bell peppers, broccoli, and remaining Maggi seasoning; cover and cook 7-8 minutes, until vegetables are almost soft.

Remove cover and toss in peanuts; leave cover off and cook, stirring occasionally, 3-5 minutes to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.

Serving Size: 261 g

Calories: 234

Calories from Fat: 76

Total Fat: 8.4 g

Saturated Fat: 0.8 g

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Cholesterol: 65 mg

Sodium: 313 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 11.6 g

Dietary Fiber: 4.1 g

Sugars: 4.3 g

Protein: 29.6 g