Chicken Cacciatore Ravioli Stew

I got this recipe a long time ago from my sister-in-law, Melanie G. (from My Kitchen Cafe). She actually had Jed and I over for dinner one night when we were neighbors and served this stew. It was great, and I'm still making it every winter. :) Make sure you buy chewy Italian bread to go along side this - it adds the perfect finishing touch to this soup!

Chicken Cacciatore Ravioli Stew
submitted by Erin

3 cloves garlic
2 T extra-virgin olive oil (or less)
2 stems fresh rosemary leaves
2 stems fresh thyme leaves
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
1 (15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes with peppers, onions and celery
2 roasted red peppers, drained
1 cup tomato sauce
1 package chopped frozen spinach, defrosted in microwave and drained
6 cups chicken broth (I usually use water & bouillon)
1 package chicken breast tenders, 3/4 pound to 1 pound (I just cooked up two boneless frozen chkn breasts)
1 pound fresh ravioli, any flavor
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano to pass at table
Crusty and chewy Italian bread, to pass at table - THIS 'MAKES' THE DINNER!

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over med-high heat. Add minced/pressed garlic and rosemary and thyme. (I used dried herbs, about 1 tsp each. But regarding the fresh herbs the original recipe said, "The leaves will fall off the stems and give a delicious and really cool flavor to your special stew.") Add the mushrooms, and stir occasionally, 3 - 5 minutes. Season the mushrooms up with a little salt and pepper as they're cooking. Next add tomatoes and chopped up roasted red peppers. Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach and add, along with tomato sauce and chicken broth. Stir until the spinach is all broken up in the broth. Cut the chicken tenders into 1-inch pieces across and add them to the stew. When the stew comes up to a boil again, add the ravioli and leave the lid off. Cook stew until the ravioli is almost done, about 5 minutes. (Or longer, according to package instructions.) Turn off the heat and let the stew cool down a little bit. Serve the stew and pass parmesan cheese and chewy bread at the table to go with it.