Sing Me A Love Song, Chicken Provencal

One book that has been a constant thought in my head is, The Happy Ever After Playlist By Abby Jimenez. This the second book in the series, The Friend Zone. I did a post recently for the first book in the series, The Friend Zone. Sloan and her fiancee are in the first book and both books should be read in order. Events in the first book have a big impact on the growth of Sloan's character.

Sloan is the Female Main Character of the book and she goes through a lot of growth. Sloan's growth begins when she finds a dog, Tucker, in the middle of a busy Los Angeles road. She takes the dog in and tries to find his owner. The number on the dog tag goes to voicemail and she tries everyday for two weeks to get in touch with his owner. Jason Larsen the male main character and musician, finally contacts Sloan after two weeks. He was away for his work and did not have great reception on his phone. When he finally gets in touch with her, they come up with an arrangement that she will continue to look after the dog and they set up a day for her to return the dog when he comes back. During the rest of the time they message and talk to each other on a daily basis.

The two continue to talk and message each other on a daily basis. Jason is always trying to find ways to hang out more with Sloan. On one particular difficult day for Sloan she drunk calls Jason and tells him that she wants to cook for him. Jason knows the importance of this statement since she had previously confided that she has not cooked for anyone in two years. He goes to her house and takes care of her in her drunken state. The next day when she wakes up she makes the statement again that she would like to cook for him. He tells her about what she said the previous night and that he would be honored to have a meal cooked by her. The meal that she cooks is , Chicken Provencal.

Sloan is a very good cook and it is mentioned many times throughout the book. She has a cooking blog that focuses on food using game. Making Chicken Provencal was an obvious choice for me to recreate because it was a milestone in Sloan's development. Jason knew the importance of this milestone and cherished it. Throughout the book, Jason did everything to show how much he cherished Sloan. Even when he forced her away, he did it because he thought he was keeping her safe and happy.

Chicken Provencal is a french dish. It often has olives in it but my version does not have olives. We are not big fans of olives over here. I did still use capers in my dish because I am a fan of capers and they add flavor to the dish. This was a pretty simple dish to make. It can be a little time consuming since there is vegetables to prep. It's all made in the skillet and you can serve it with rice if you would like.

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Chicken Provencal

Ingredients

• 4 bone in chicken thighs

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced

• 1 bell pepper thinly sliced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 1 cup diced tomatoes

• 1 tbsp capers

• 1 tsp herbes de Provence (or dried thyme, rosemary and oregano)

• Fresh Parsley or basil, for garnish

Directions

Step 1: Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken skin-side-down until browned, about 6-7 minutes. Flip the chicken thigh and brown the other side. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

Step 2: In the same skillet that you just cooked the chicken in, reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and bell pepper. Cook until soft, 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Step 3: Pour wine to deglaze the pan, scrapping up browned bits. Add the tomatoes, capers and herbes de Provence.

Step 4: Return chicken to the pan and spoon sauce over the top. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

Step 5: Serve with white rice. If looking for a low carb option, serve with cauliflower rice. Spoon the chicken and the sauce over the rice. Garnish with parsley or basil.