Sunday night dinner

On Sunday I like to cook a big batch of something so we can have leftovers for lunch or dinner during the week.  If we are home and and I have time I like to put a big pot on the stove or in the oven.  If we are going to be gone or just too busy I will throw something into the crockpot.  The crockpot is a cook's best friend!  How easy can it be?

Today, I wanted to cook on the stove so the house would smell yummy.  Chicken stew - yum, yum.  I use a lot more veggies than meat, but you can do however.

It is so simple.  First, cut up your veggies.  This time I used onions, carrots, celery,  garlic, red potatoes, turnips, and parsnips. Use whatever you have in the frig.  Saute in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes or so.  Season with salt (not too much to start with), pepper, thyme, maybe a little basil  or sage.  After that is blended well add a quart of home canned tomatoes (or a can of store bought diced tomatoes), a quart of homemade chicken broth (or again, store bought chicken broth, I like to use the quart size organic, low-sodium that comes in a box), a tbls. of tomato paste (I like to have the tube of tomato paste in the frig for when I don't need too much paste, or I will open a small can and glob the remainder of the paste onto wax paper and put it into the freezer until frozen then put in a freezer bag to store back in the freezer until needed).  Then add some chicken (I used skinless, boneless chicken breast), and a bay leaf.  Make sure your meat is covered with the liquid; simmer until meat is cooked.

Remove chicken and let cool.  Cube your chicken  and return to pot.   Now you can add a can of drained kidney beans, or whatever bean you have on hand.  If you don't have any beans, you could add some leftover cooked rice or pasta.  I also like to add some frozen veggies to add a little more color.   In this batch I added some frozen butternut squash, green beans, corn, and peas from our garden.  The color is so pretty!   I adjust my seasoning; adding some more pepper and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce.  Add what you like, maybe some cayenne pepper or curry powder?   Use your imagination; I'm sure it will be great.  Well, that's basically it.  Dinner is ready.

Enjoy the day

mother hen