Chicken Stew

Cookbook Recipe #4

You know how I like to make comforting foods. Well the slow cooker is the ultimate way of making comforting foods. Phil is not the biggest fan of the slow cooker. He does not like how it makes meats more of a shredded consistency. So, I use the slow cooker a lot on weekends when Phil is working. I think everyone who has a slow cooker should buy slow cooker liners. I thinking they are AMAZING!. How many times do you go to clean the slow cooker after dinner and because the food is in there all day there is a crusted ring around the walls of the cooker? Even with soaking sometimes it is hard to get off the crud. The slow cooker liners solve the whole mess. They are definitely worth the extra money at the store. 

I saw a version of this chicken stew recipe on a fellow Iowan's blog: Macke Monologues at 

http://d-and-s-macke.blogspot.com. Desiree is from my home town of Denison and we graduated in the same class. She pins all her recipes on Pinterest and that is how I found her blog. I saw that Desiree got this recipe from Betty Crocker so I looked up the original online. I have a couple Betty Crocker cookbooks (go figure) so I thought I would see if this recipe was in one of them.....and low and behold, it was. 

I thought this recipe sounded like a good weekend slow cooker recipe. I love anything with gravy, so I figured this would be a good one. And it was. The gravy made the stew very rich tasting. I choose to use Porcini mushrooms because I think they have a deeper flavor then regular white mushrooms. The recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken thighs and they can be pricey at the store. The price is worth it to me because I sure would not want to bone them myself. Because chicken thighs are the dark meat of the chicken it works well in the slow cooker whereas the breasts wouldn't stay as juicy. 

Chicken Stew

Adapted from Best of Betty Crocker 2010 and Macke Monologues

3 medium red potatoes, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 8oz package Porcini mushrooms

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon onion salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 12oz jars chicken gravy

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon parsley

Place a slow cooker liner in slow cooker. 

Add potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. Place chicken on top of vegetables. Sprinkle with onion salt, pepper, parsley and garlic salt. 

In one of the jars of gravy stir in tomato paste. Pour both jars of gravy into slow cooker. Add wine and cover. 

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. 

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