Tag: cold weather food

Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Stew

I love chicken stew. Here in the south, at least chicken stew I’ve had all my life, chicken stew is usually just chicken in a milk based broth with seasonings. And, is eaten with hot sauce and saltine crackers. I started to make that (and I will sometime, and will share it when I do!), but I decided I wanted some vegetables – so I came up with something a little different.

I started with shredded chicken. I realize I sound like a broken record, but I will say it again, for anyone that may have missed it – if you ever need shredded chicken, and you own an instant pot, use your instant pot – and cook your chicken (you can even do it from frozen, if you forgot to thaw it out), with some chicken stock – and then shred it with a hand held mixer. You can get more details here.

While my chicken was cooking, I prepped my vegetables. I used 7 potatoes, 4 carrots and 1 onion. I also added a can of whole kernel corn.

I love my Le Creuset and I use it several times a week. Tonight was no exception. It is, truly, one of my favorite things in my kitchen. I had wanted one for quite a while, but never could justify dropping that much money on one – but, I was given the opportunity to get one as my 20 year anniversary gift from the place I work. I didn’t know I would love it as much as I to – but, I digress… that that to say, I cooked the chicken stew in my Le Creuset. I have 6 3/4 oval Dutch oven, in Cerise.

I added the olive oil, onions and carrots and cooked until they started to soften.

I then added in the seasonings (when I can, I like to add seasonings, like thyme, before adding the liquids – I feel like it opens up the flavor more, if you do). and I just stirred it all through.

I then added in 1 cup of the chicken stock and made sure to pull up any of the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Once that was done, I added in the potatoes, the corn, the chicken (including the stock from the instant pot), the remaining stock and the milk and brought the stew up to a boil. Then, reduced the heat, covered the pot and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

A couple tips:

  • Since the chicken is precooked, you can eat the stew as soon as your vegetables are soft, but the longer you let it simmer, the more the flavors will meld.
  • I didn’t have whole milk, but wanted a creamy soup – so I used some skim milk and some heavy cream. Feel free to adjust which milk to your taste. If I would have had whole milk, I would have just used all whole for the 5 cups the recipe calls for.
  • If you prefer a less ‘creamy’ stew (or just want to make it a little healthier), just adjust the broth to milk ratio, to your liking – but, we definitely prefer the chicken stew with more milk, than broth.
  • If you like a thicker stew, you can certainly add a slurry at the end to thicken.
  • Try it with some hot sauce – that’s how we like it! And, some saltine crackers if you have them – unfortunately, we didn’t tonight.

Chicken and Vegetable Stew

3 large chicken breasts, shredded (with stock from cooking)
4 carrots, chopped
6-8 potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
3 cups chicken stock (one cup comes from cooking the chicken breasts – if you cook in instant pot, like I do)
5 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp olive oil

  • Cook chicken and shred
  • Prep vegetables
  • In large pot or dutch oven, add olive oil, onions and carrots and cook for 4-5 minutes
  • Add in seasonings and stir through
  • Add in chicken stock, pulling up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot
  • Add the potatoes, then the chicken (including stock from cooking)
  • Finally add in milk – and bring to a boil
  • Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes (or until vegetables are tender)

by Michelle

Hearty Beef Stew

When it starts to get cooler, it’s really hard to beat a good stew. And, beef stew is one of our favorites. It’s warm, filling and feeds a lot – what’s not to love about it?! OH, and it is super easy to make!

I started by chopping my vegetables. Since it was going in a stew, I just rough chopped everything.

The cooking started with, as so many things that I love do, a little bit of olive oil, the onions I chopped and garlic. I cooked the onions and garlic until they started to get soft.

Then I added in the stew meat and browned it – adding in the seasonings, when it started to get browned.

Finally, I added in 4 cups – or one carton – of beef stock, the can of crushed tomatoes and the vegetables.

I let it come to a boil and then reduced the heat and covered the stew.

** Side note, the recipe is written up to indicate that you should, after lowering the heat cook it for about an hour (which is what I would normally do) – however, tonight, my daughter had volleyball and I was getting the dinner ready prior to leaving for the match, so I deviated slightly. I brought it up to a boil and then simmered for about 30 minutes or so. I had preheated my oven to 450 degrees. When I had to leave, I put the dutch oven (lid on) in the oven, turned off the oven and let it continue to cook in the oven. While this isn’t necessary for this recipe, and isn’t even how I would normally do it, I do mention it in case it is helpful to someone! The Le Creuset dutch oven is so well insulated, that this works perfectly – and kept the beef stew nice and warm for the time that we were away from the house. It was nice to be able to come home, only needing to thicken the stew before eating!

When we got home, I removed the dutch oven from the oven and returned it to the stove, as I wanted to add a quick slurry (just a couple tablespoons of corn starch mixed with about 1/2 cup or so of cold water) to the stew to thicken it a bit. To help it thicken, I brought it back up to a boil prior to adding in the slurry. Point of note – even after being in the oven, which wasn’t on – but, had been preheated to 450 degrees, for a couple hours – the stew was still pretty hot and was up to a boil in a matter of about 2 minutes.

We were hungry and we were cold – we enjoyed our beef stew about 10 – 15 minutes after adding the slurry! Super easy – super filling – super delicious – super perfect for this busy evening.

Hearty Beef Stew

2.5 – 3 lbs stew meat
5 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6-8 red potatoes, diced
1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
4 cups beef stock
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp Umami seasoning

  • Chop vegetables
  • In a large dutch oven, add olive oil and then onions and garlic, cook until soft
  • Add in stew meat and brown, add in seasonings
  • Add in tomatoes and beef stock, bring to a boil – then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for approximately 1 hour (timing may vary depending on the size you cut your veggies)
  • Just before serving, bring back up to a boil – and add in a slurry of cold water and corn starch to thicken

by Michelle