Mom's Cafe Home Cooking: Crockpot Chicken Stew

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Crockpot Chicken Stew

A lot of people love their crockpots but I'm not one of them despite having two. Mine tend to be used mainly for stews, during bulk cooking sessions or to keep something hot like apple cider when entertaining. That's it. One reason I dislike crockpots is because they require a long cook time and while that is good for meats it tends to make some foods turn to mush. While crockpots have a reputation of being energy efficient they actually can cost more to operate than a pressure cooker. In reality, crockpots are money savers but for a different reason. You can put the ingredients in the crockpot before you leave for work in the morning, set it on low and by the time you get home a nice, hot and tasty meal will be ready for you.

Crockpot Chicken Stew

The vast majority of my soups and stews are made from scratch without a written recipe. I start with an idea then add as I go jotting down what I add in my kitchen journal. This allows me to duplicate and tweak further. Saturday we were hosting a larger event and since I had a lot of prep to do for that I wanted something easier for dinner. The idea of making chicken stew in the crockpot came to mind. It meant there would be reduced clean-up so I could spend the time between dinner and guest arrival doing last minute prep.

Crockpot Chicken Stew

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 medium potatoes, washed
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 lg carrots, coined
1½ c niblet corn
1 L home canned/made chicken stock
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Herbs de Province
2 tbsp flour
water

Lightly brown the chicken breasts. Remove and cut into cubes. Place in slow cooker with the chicken stock. Cut wash potatoes into cubes and add to the crockpot. Prepare carrots, onions and celery. Add to crockpot along with corn. Add Worcestershire sauce and herbs. Mix well. Cover then set the crockpot to low. Allow to cook for 6 hours. Check vegetables for doneness. Increase temperature to high. Allow to cook until vegetables are just tender. Mix flour with water to form a slurry. Slowly pour into the liquids in the crockpot. Stir then allow to continue cooking until the liquids thicken.