‘Best chicken stew’ lives up to its name

Published 10:50 pm Sunday, November 5, 2017

I’ve obviously made my way on some kind of list because I receive weekly emails from delish.com.

The emails are food-related, and that means there are usually recipes involved.

A recent email included tons of fall recipes.

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I had taken chicken out of the freezer for supper with plans to make potato chip chicken when I saw today’s recipe.

The weather was fall-ish and this sounded like it might be a better choice for supper.

When I got home from work, I texted Brad “potato chip chicken or chicken stew?”

He texted right back “chicken stew.”

The first thing I did was get the chicken ready (cleaned).

Then I minced the garlic. I only had one large clove of garlic, so I decided to just use the one clove and add some garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon).

Then I rinsed the carrots, celery and potatoes. My carrots weren’t huge, so I used three instead of two. I didn’t have new potatoes and just used what I had. I weighed them and 3/4 pound was about three medium Idahos.

I cut the carrots into about 1-inch pieces and added them to the melted butter along with the celery.

When I felt it was long enough — just a guess — I added the garlic and let the mixture cook for a few minutes.

I then added the flour and tossed everything until the vegetables were coated.

I dumped in the chicken and the remaining ingredients.

Again, I didn’t have fresh thyme so I guessed and used one teaspoon of dried. Then poured in three cups of chicken stock (I didn’t have broth but they are almost the same).

Three cups of stock didn’t look like enough to me, so I added another cup for good measure.

I was getting impatient, as usual, and turned the stove up to medium high until the pot began to boil. I then turned it down to medium, put the lid on the pot and waited.

The chicken cooked in less than 30 minutes (I’m guessing because I didn’t watch the clock). When I thought the chicken was done, I removed one piece and cut into it to see. Sure enough, it was done.

I removed all the chicken and shredded it with two forks and put it all back in the pot.

I turned the stove down to simmer and waited for Brad to get home.

While I was waiting, I decided cornbread would be good with the stew and I mixed some up and was ready to put it in the oven when Brad got home.

When supper was ready, we sat down, Brad blessed the food and we dug in.

The stew was so hot it burned my tongue a little. But it was worth it.

Brad and I both really liked this stew. I think it could have used more garlic, but he seemed to think it was fine.

And how could I forget that Brad had picked one large shiitake mushroom the night before, so I chopped it up and added half of it to the stew while it cooked.

I knew one of the first things he would say was “mushrooms would have been really good in this.”

Of course, I picked the mushrooms out of my bowl and gave them to Brad while we ate. I didn’t bother with garnishing our stew with parsley — mainly because I didn’t have any.

Now, when I think of stew, I think of something thick and hearty.

This stew isn’t thick, but it was plenty hearty. This recipe was so easy to put together and was ready within an hour — which was pretty unbelievable.

The only complaint I have with this recipe is that it doesn’t make a big ol’ pot of stew. I would say it made about four large servings.

By the way, the cornbread was a perfect addition to this meal.

I nailed this recipe and you can be sure it will be served often this fall and winter at our house.

It’s definitely got a place in my self-made cookbook; which I’m going to have to split into two cookbooks because it’s overflowing.

Best Chicken Stew

— 2 tablespoons butter

— 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces

— 1 celery stick, chopped

— Kosher salt

— Freshly-ground black pepper

— 3 cloves garlic, minced

— 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

— 1-1/2 lbs. chicken breasts

— 3 sprigs thyme

— 1 bay leaf

— 3/4 lb. baby potatoes, quartered

— 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

— 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add carrots and celery and season mixture with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add flour and stir until the vegetables are coated, then add chicken, thyme, bay leaf, potatoes, and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink and the potatoes are tender.

Remove chicken from pot and transfer to a medium bowl. Using two forks, shred the chicken into small pieces and turn to the pot. Garnish with parsley.

Sarah Condley is an amateur baker and chef who is compiling a cookbook of her favorite recipes.