Brazilian Holiday Chicken - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil or 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 cups boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped in 1 inch pieces or 4 cups boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 1/2 green bell peppers, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 bay leaf
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
5 (8 ounce) cans no-salt-added tomato sauce (you can also use 2 15 oz. cans and 1 8 oz. can)
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 cups celery, chopped

Preparation

Heat a large stew pot and add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add chicken cubes and cook one or two minutes just until the surface of the poultry is opaque. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, water, bay leaf, garlic powder, cumin and oregano to the pot and bring the stew to a light boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 110 minutes uncovered.
Season with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice and celery; cook until crisp tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove bay leaf before serving.
This goes nicely over a bowl of brown rice and a green leafy salad.