Sautéed Chicken Breasts and Tomatoes

Fresh, whole foods are always the best choice, but there are some situations where canned foods come with hidden benefits. Canned stewed tomatoes, for instance, are an amazing pantry staple you can use in a million recipes—from pasta sauce to soups and chili. And in this case, the fact that they’ve been pre-cooked could actually increase their nutrition value. That’s because lycopene, the powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes, is released during cooking. While some vegetables lose nutrients as you cook them, you actually get more of it if the tomatoes have been simmering. That’s really great news because lycopene is great for heart health and fighting inflammation and has been associated with lower risk of some cancers. Start reaping the benefits of cooked tomatoes by making this fast, delicious chicken dinner.

Ingredients

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 14 ounce can stewed tomatoes
small handful fresh basil or 1/8 teaspoon dried
to taste salt
to taste freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Cut chicken breast into bite size pieces.
2. Heat skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.
3. Sauté chicken and garlic until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
4. Add stewed tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.
5. Cover and simmer over low flame until chicken is tender, 20 minutes or less.

WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE Fast, weeknight ways to make chicken delicious are really important, since it’s such an easy, healthy option for lean protein at dinnertime. Here, you get amazing garlic-tomato-basil flavor and all of the extra nutrients the veggies and herbs provide. One extra tip: toss in the basil near the end of the cooking process to retain maximum flavor.