Chicken Stew

I made Chicken Stew over the weekend. 

Doesn't it look yummy?!  It was! 

It was super-easy, too, since I made it in the slow cooker (or as most people like to call it...the crock pot)! 






I've told you before that we eat a lot of chicken in our house.  Mainly because the only meat Grace will eat is either chicken or turkey (I think I told y'all that before, too).  Growing up, I only liked boneless chicken breast.  Even as an adult, I preferred boneless skinless chicken breast over whole chickens.  Just in the past few years have I started cooking whole chicken.  In that short amount of time, it's become my favorite type of chicken to prepare.  Mainly because it's cheap, easy and there's always leftovers! 

I love having pre-cooked (and chopped) chicken in the freezer.  It's perfect for quick and easy meals on busy nights (or on those days I really don't want to fuss around in the kitchen). 

Chicken Noodle Soup is one of my go-to meals (usually twice a month during winter months) when I have leftover chicken.  And even though the weather has been a bit cooler lately, I wasn't quite ready for Chicken Noodle Soup.  I was in the mood for stew more than soup.

This is the first time I've made chicken stew and I'm happy to have another recipe option for all of our leftover chicken!  I started with a very meaty chicken carcass that I placed in my slow cooker to make chicken stock, covered with water, and let it simmer on low overnight.  In the morning, I removed the carcass, picked off all of the meat and set aside to cool. 

I then strained the stock into a large bowl.  I measured out 4 cups of the stock, skimmed the fat as much as possible, and added it back to the slow cooker.  I also added about 2 cups of water since this stock was very concentrated.  After that, I started chopping the veggies for the stew......

Chicken Stew

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 2 large potatoes, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 3 cups frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans, lima beans)
• 2-3 cups chicken, cooked and chopped
• 1/2 Tbs. dried parsely
• 1/2 Tbs. bottled minced garlic (heaping)
• 1 1/2 Tbs. Mrs. Dash
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 4 Tbs. flour (I used Wondra)

Directions:

• Add all ingredients (exept the chicken and flour) to slow cooker. 
• Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours (or until potatoes are tender)
• Remove 2 cups of liquid from stew and mix with the flour. 
• Stir flour mixture into the stew. 
• Stir in chicken. 
• Simmer for another 30 minutes to an hour. 

Notes: 

• This seemed to cook really quickly.  I'm wondering if it's because I started with a hot slow cooker and hot chicken stock.  You may have to adjust cooking times if using canned or cold stock. 
• Even with the 4 Tbs. of flour, it still didn't get as thick as I would have liked.  Next time, I'll either use less liquid or add more vegetables. 
• After we each enjoyed heaping bowls full of this stew, we still had plenty leftover.  The following night, I reheated the leftovers and poured over a pot of egg noodles.  This stretched the stew for another 2 nights! 

I'll be sharing this recipe and linking up to the following blog carnivals and linky parties: 

• Ultimate Recipe Swap
• Turning the Table Thursday
• Pennywise Platter Thursday
• Frugal Food Thursday
• Thirsty For Comments Thursday
• Ultimate Recipe Swap (Slow Cooker Recipes)