Roasted Tuscan Chicken

The other day I was looking for a summer tortellini salad recipe I used to make a lot and I ran across a completely different recipe I haven't made in ages. It's not really a summer recipe at all, but I had all the ingredients on hand and decided to give it a go.

As I was making it my husband and I were discussing how to tell a good recipe from a bad one. This is one I pulled from a magazine. It was an ad for Ragu spaghetti sauce from (gulp) 1997. I remembered liking the flavors but not liking the overall dish as much as I should have given the flavor combination. I quickly realized the flaws were in the directions and the prep. As always I reconnoitered and made it my own.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenders cut into 1" cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 medium potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes (about 4 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I like Paul Newman's Organic)
1 pound fresh or frozen green beans
1 teaspoon dried basil or fresh basil if you have it
salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven to 350. Saute (on medium high heat) chicken and garlic in olive oil until chicken is lightly browned. Add potatoes and peppers and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and pour into a 9x13" baking dish that has been sprayed or wiped with olive oil. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove foil for final 5 minutes of baking. Makes 6 generous servings.

linking up with Made by You Monday