Grecian Chicken

I don't know what exactly makes this dish "Grecian" isn't not like there is any feta cheese or kalamata olives in it. It may not be Grecian at all, but that is what my mom called it, so that is what I will call it. This is a recipe that was taught to my mother, by her mother-in-law, aka my grandma.  It is in the top twenty greatest family recipes, for sure.

Grecian Chicken

1 chicken cut up (I always just buy one cut up, who knows how to cut up a chicken the right way anyway? Not me!)

2 big cans diced tomatoes

1 big onion diced

2 green peppers diced

3 cloves garlic minced

5-6 bay leaves

1-2 T curry (if you recall, I told you the best and cheapest place to buy good flavored curry is the Mexican spice section of wall-mart)

salt and pepper 

1 T chicken base

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place your cut up chicken in your roasting pan drizzle it with olive oil (I then brush it with a pastry brush, just to make it even) Then liberally season it with salt and pepper (I go with fresh ground, just get the big grinders from Costco).  Brown the chicken in the oven for about 45 minutes until the skin is browned. Meanwhile, dice up your onion and pepper and saute it in some olive oil, season with salt and pepper. You don't have to cook them throughout, just enough to let them release their fragrance. 

Add the tomatoes, curry (add 1 T if you aren't big with curry flavor, add 2 T if you are, if you hate curry, add turmeric, but then of course the recipe is dead to me) garlic, bay leaves, chicken base and season with a little more salt and pepper.  Just mix it together, no need to heat it. 

When the chicken is browned, pour the tomato mixture on top, cover it and return to the oven. Bake at 300 degrees for at least 2 hours until the chicken falls off the bone and the vegetables are cooked down. Serve over rice, this will feed a lot of people, like 10 people. So if you are not 10 people, it freezes really well.

note: yes I served it with white rice. . . . I am so ashamed . . . .