Ratatouille Stuffed Chicken

Yet another night of giving away all of my secrets because I can't sleep.

Here is my recipe for ratatouille stuffed chicken

Step one: Buy yourself a chicken.

Also buy: red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, 1 red onion, eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, celery, 1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs, a little bit of chicken stock and2 tbsp. of butter

Garnishes, herbs, etc: balsamic vinegar, basil, sage, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper

1) First, thaw out your chicken entirely if you need to. No, you cannot cook a frozen chicken. Rub the chicken with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

2) Throw the minced onion, chopped celery, butter, salt, and pepper, a little sage and a little garlic, into a pan and sautee until the veggies are soft. Then throw that into a bowl with the bread crumbs and add chicken broth/stock until the breadcrumbs are soft. Leave it there.

3) If you are not lazy like me, roast the peppers in the oven at about 350 until the skins are a little brown and you can peel them off. However, if you have shit to do, just chop up the peppers, eggplant, squash, and zucchini and throw them into a pan together and sautee until soft, occasionally adding bits of salt, pepper, and the rest of the herbs (to taste). Shake a little (very little) balsamic vinegar in as well.

4) Mix the sauteed veggies into the bowl with the rest of the stuffing until it looks and feels pretty even.

5) Shove the stuffing into the chicken, and if it doesn't all fit, put it in a casserole dish and bake at 350 for about 14 or 20 minutes, or until finished.

6) Put the chicken in a casserole dish or whatever you deem appropriate, and cover with aluminium foil. I find it is helpful to take about a cup of water mixed with about a teaspoon of salt and a little bit of balsamic vinegar in the bottom of the pan, and baste it over the chicken while it cooks. You don't have to do this if you don't want, it just makes the skin a little crispier and a little tastier and the chicken looks gorgeous when it comes out of the oven.

7) Leave it in the oven for as long as the instructions tell you to on the packaged chicken. Am I too lazy to look that up for you? Yes. Yes I am.

Though I have to say, for a recipe I made up when I was wasted one night, it turned out pretty delicious. It also tastes awesome with couscous or rice.