You all know I love a one-pot wonder for meal prep, especially when it involves simmering on the stove for a few hours and is ready to eat whenever you are.  This is one of those dishes that involves a cozy afternoon in.  I made this dish last Sunday and sent Chris back to Santa Barbara with all of the leftovers.  He had plenty of lunches and dinners throughout the week, which hopefully fueled his exam studying!

We were flipping though a keto magazine when I got the idea for this dish. We aren’t ready to fully commit to the keto lifestyle, but it’s always fun to see what options we would have if we were to go to this diet.  Most of the recipes I saw were obviously protein based, with a lot of zucchini and some tomato flavors in there (zucchini pizza, anyone?).  I took those ideas to the store with me, and came up with this meal prep for the week.

Although this dish is keto-inspired, I added some pasta at the end to thicken it and add a little element of fun.  I also do not want to claim that this is fully keto if the pasta was left out, as I am definitely not a keto expert.  I would consider this one “keto-inspired”, so please use your discretion if you follow the keto diet before you make it. 

Recipe down below, along with pictures! 

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Ingredients:

4 Bone-in chicken thighs, with skin

5 Sweet Italian chicken sausages

¼ Cup Olive Oil

1 Onion, sliced

2 Banana Peppers, sliced with seeds removed

6 Zucchini, cut into large cubes

1 16 oz Can unsalted plum tomatoes

1 cup Chicken Broth

½ cup of Alphabet pasta (can substitute orzo or other small pasta shapes)

¼ cup of Parmesan Cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Prepare vegetables by slicing the onion in half, removing skin and outer layer if needed, and slicing into ¼ inch slices.  For the zucchini, cut off both ends, cut into quarters, and cut the quarters into large bite-sized pieces.  For the peppers, cut off the stem end and cut the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and white membrane, and cut the halves into slices.
2. Add olive oil to a Dutch Oven or large pan and heat over medium-high heat until hot.
3. Using tongs, place the chicken thighs into the hot oil, skin side down.  Cook chicken until golden brown on that side, then flip and repeat on the other side.  When both sides are browned, use tongs to move chicken from the pan to a large plate.  Set aside.
4. Using tongs, add sausage to the pan, rotating occasionally until browned on all sides.  When fully browned, use tongs to remove them from the pan onto the plate with the chicken.  Set aside.
5. Add onions and peppers to the pot, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan with the tongs to begin to loosen up the browned bits from the chicken and sausage.  Cook until fully softened, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the zucchini and stir to combine.  Cook zucchini until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
7. Add the canned tomatoes and chicken broth to the pan with the vegetables, stir to combine.  Bring this mixture up to a boil over medium high heat.
8. Once the vegetables and the sauce are boiling, add chicken and sausage back to the pot, and reduce heat to low.  Add all remaining juices to the pot as well.
9. Cover and cook on low from 1-3 hours, depending on how much time you have.
10. Approximately 30 minutes before serving, add the pasta and stir to combine. 
11. Before serving, remove the sausages and chicken and allow to cool on a cutting board until cool enough to handle.  Slice the sausages and add back to the pot, stir to combine. For the chicken, pull the meat off of the bones and shred the meat using your hands or two forks.  Add chicken meat back to the pot, stir to combine.
12. Taste stew and check for seasoning.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
13. Use a ladle or large spoon to scoop out a nice bowlful of stew.  Top with some Parmesan cheese right before serving.