Come Home to Chicken Stew

Who likes coming home to dinner already made?  ME!  But hey, I’m single and I work full-time.  Wait.  I have a crock pot.  If you don’t have a house-spouse, your best friend would be the crock pot.  Plug it in as you leave, come home to dinner.  It’s happiness in an appliance.

Feel free to mess with the vegetables — this recipe is pretty forgiving, and you can have what you like.  If you do not like parsnips, cannot find parsnips, or don’t want to go look, use potatoes instead of them.  If you’ve never had them, give parsnips a go — they’re surprising in flavor, and add something good to this stew.

Come Home to Chicken Stew

• 1 pound of chicken breast, cut in 1 inch cubes (could use thighs, too, if you prefer)
• 2-3 Tablespoons all-purpose gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob’s, more or less depending on how wet your chicken is)
• 2 teaspoons dried minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon sweet or Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt*
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Spray or oil your crock.  Add all the above ingredients, and mix thoroughly so chicken is coated and there’s no clumps of flour at the bottom.  If you think your stock is salty, hold off on the salt.

Add your veg and stock:

• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 2-3 small parsnips, chopped  (or potatoes, see above)
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth or stock (check for allergens here, unless you make your own)
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 small or 1 large bay leaves
• Handful of celery leaves, optional

Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours.

Come home and add 1 cup of green beans or peas, if desired, about 1 hour before serving.

Serve with roasted potatoes, or some sort of roll or bread.

What do you do with your crock pot?