Italian Chicken Stew

I started w/ Giada De Laurentis' (Everyday Italian Food Network) recipe and tweaked it to my own tastes (ie: I added the wine and garlic, changed the fresh basil to dried, only because I didn't have any on hand-I'm sure fresh is better, I used fire roasted tomatoes instead of plain, and I changed the kidney beans to cannellini beans). We had some crusty roasted garlic bread with this.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 2  stalks celery, rough chop
• 2  carrots, rough chop
• 1  medium onion, rough chop
• 4  garlic cloves, chopped
•  salt and pepper
• 1 (14 ounce) can  chopped fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1⁄4 cup white wine
• 1  tablespoon tomato paste
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1  bay leaf
• 2  chicken breasts, with ribs, skin on (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and the salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, wine, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
2. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirringthe mixture occasionally, about 30 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breast to a work surface or large plate and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the cannellini beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
3. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.
4. Ladle into serving bowls.