Chicken Fish Chanukah

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Salad Sephardic Side Dishes

Soup Sweets Vegetarian

Summer squash are popular and versatile vegetables served in a variety of ways in the South. Most Southerner cooks have an arsenal of squash recipes and are constantly looking for new squash recipes, since squash grow quite prolifically when in season.

Summer squash are thin skinned squash as opposed to the winter squash which are thicker skin and more like pumpkin in terms of cooking. Both summer and winter squash are available in an almost endless variety of shapes and colors. The most common summer squash in the South, however, are the yellow and zucchini types. Other varieties can be substituted in recipes calling for summer squash, so a white patty pan squash, for instance, can easily be substituted for the yellow or zucchini in a recipe.

Skillet Chicken and Summer Squash is one of many main dish Southern recipes for squash. The recipe is quick and easy and on the stove top so does not heat up the kitchen like some of the casserole recipes. It’s also light and healthy but still makes a satisfying and filling dinner dish.

Chicken and Summer Squash Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp pepper (fresh ground is very good)
• ¼ tsp paprika
• 2 ½ TBS olive oil
• ½ cup chicken broth (canned or homemade)
• 1 small zucchini squash
• 1 medium yellow squash
• 1 bell pepper (various colors add visual interest)
• 1 TBS basil
• Grated parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:

1. Remove any extra fat from the chicken breasts with a sharp knife.
2. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and paprika.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet until medium hot.
4. Cook chicken in oil until browned on both sides (takes around 10 minutes).
5. Reduce heat to low and pour chicken broth over chicken.
6. Put lid on skillet and simmer on low for around 20 minutes.
7. Chop squash and pepper into bite-sized chunks and add to chicken mixture and then sprinkle with basil.
8. Put lid back on skillet and cook until vegetables are tender. Use a fork to check doneness and cook to preferred tenderness or softness. A good ballpark time is 3 to 5 minutes for tender but still crispy squash.
9. Pour mixture onto a serving platter.