Giada's Chicken Spezzatino

It's Friday! Yay! What do you have planned for the weekend? I plan to sleep in, watch lots of Food Network, eat yummy food and maybe get off my booty to workout a little bit. I really could use the workouts since I have a Vegas trip coming up and I want to be able to show off some curves.
I received Giada's cookbook Everyday Italian for my birthday and so far every recipe I've tried has been good. Today, I'm posting her Chicken Spezzatino. There is another version of this on FoodNetwork.com but I'm not a big fan of artichokes so I prefer this one. I served it over a wild rice mixture from Trader Joes.

Chicken Spezzatino
by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 celery stalks, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 14.5oz can chopped tomatoes with their juices
1 14oz can reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 C fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 chicken breasts with ribs (about 1.5 pounds) (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces)
1 15oz can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)

Directions

In a heavy 5.5 quart saucepan, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the celery, carrot, and onion, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken and press to submerge. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, turning the breasts over and stirring occasionally, until the chicken is almost cooked through, about 20 minutes. Add the beans and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced to a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Discard the bay leaf. Let the chicken cool about 5 minutes. Discard the skin and bones and cut the meat into bite size pieces. Return it to the stew and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I have some sad news to report. My basil plant is dying. I'm a very bad basil plant mommy. BUT, that won't stop me from buying another one at Trader Joes.