Cooking with Chef Jo: Curried Chicken Stew

 The fall like temperatures plummeted with the rains leaving. It was time for something that would stick to your ribs and be extra yummy. It had to be easy to prepare and not use my stovetop. It's still full of canning stuff. This week it's beans of all types. I try to keep a case load of dried beans canned for easy meal preps. 

Beef or lamb stew instantly came to mind, but I didn't have any thawed. I had carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes that were turning wimpy. All I had thawed was chicken breasts and pork chops. But that's the thing about stew, it can be made with any kind of meat. 

Yes, I have a monthly menu plan, but that's the beauty of having a stocked pantry, I can change it up when I need to. For example, on the menu for tonight was chicken pot pie. Being dark meat lovers, I use the breast meat, from our butchered chickens, for pot pies and soups. I had put this on the menu when I checked my cold storage of vegetables and noticed the above mentioned root crops were starting to get soft. They were to be used in the upcoming week. Not all of them were in trouble...just a handful of the late spring harvest. 

The late fall harvests are waiting to be dug or in the cold storage system I mentioned a couple of posts ago. We gutted and modified a neighbor's refrigerator that died, so as soon as we bury it, we'll have a bigger, more permanent root cellar. We're still looking for a chest freezer to do the same. I've had great success in doing this type of root cellar in south Georgia. But, I digress as usual. Sigh! On to the recipe. It's made in a slow cooker so out of sight, but ready when I want it.

Curried Chicken Stew

Serves 6

What you'll need

2 half chicken breasts, diced chunky*

1 medium onion, diced chunky

3- 6" carrots, diced chunky

2 large Russet potatoes. diced chunky

5 ribs celery, diced chunky

1 lb mushrooms. sliced 1/2" thick

5 large cloves garlic, minced

1 can Cream of Chicken soup*

1- 10.5 oz can of coconut milk or whole milk*

1 qt chicken stock

3 large bay leaves

1 TBS Madras curry powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, ground

1 tsp of salt                                              1/4 tsp black pepper                                                                                                                                1 tsp rubbed sage                                                                                                                                     2-4" sprigs of thyme

                                                                                             1/4 cup flour with 1 tsp corn starch

                                                                                             1 TBS oil

                                                                                             Parsley for garnish

 Notes- * I consider a chunky dice to be 1"-2" big.

* I use my canned cream of chicken soup- 16 oz jar.

* I love coconut milk in this stew, but Mel doesn't care for it so I substituted milk.

Putting it all together

• In a bag, place flour, salt, black pepper, curry and powder, cayenne, Shake well to combine and add chicken. Shake to coat and set aside.
• In large frying pan, heat oil until shimmering.
• Add onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic. Stir fry until onions are translucent.
• Add chicken and any remaining flour.
• Cook until the chicken is browned.
• Add the chicken broth while stirring, a little at a time to deglaze the pan and form a thin gravy.
• Pour into slow cooker.
• Add cream of chicken soup, thyme, coconut milk/milk, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
• Add potatoes.
• Cover and turn setting to high. Cook for two hours.
• Check the carrots. They may still a little tough.
• Turn slow cooker to low and continue cooking until the carrots are tender (about 4 hours).
• Or, you can set your slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours.
• Remove bay leaves and thyme twigs before service.

I make my buttermilk biscuits to go with the stew to round out the meal. That's another too busy to cook/can't use my cooktop meal. This dish can't actually be made on the cooktop also in about two hours. You can add leftover vegetables to your stew too. Green bean, peas, corn and/or okra make this exceptionally tasty when added the last hour of cooking. In the past I've used parsnips, rutabagas, and daikon radishes to substitute for carrots and potatoes with the same wonderful results. I use what I have to make this. Isn't this what self sufficient homesteading is all about?

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo