Recipe: Simple Chicken Stew

This simple chicken stew recipe is healthy, delicious, and can be made with short notice with common ingredients

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Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14-1/2 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 Yukon Gold potato, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a heavy, large (5-1/2 quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, celery, carrot, potato, and onion. Sauté the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme.
3. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
4. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes.
5. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes.
6. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced to a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
7. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew.
8. Bring the stew to just a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

[Editor’s note: If the chicken breasts break the surface of the liquid too much, then cover pan while cooking the chicken. Also recommend serving in a bowl atop brown rice – yum!]

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