The other night the temperature dropped again to -40 and I thought what better time than to get out the crockpot and make a stew. It was probably the most delicious stew I’ve made since getting this crockpot and honestly, it may be the best $60 I’ve spent in recent years. I definitely missed having one after I moved!

The recipe is fairly simply and classic. I’m scouring YouTube for other recipes to try this week. I have a couple of bunches of kale I need to use up and may try a soup with that. We’ll see. It’s been difficult to get meat lately with my grocery orders and so I only have pork in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of sliced celery
• 2 cups of baby carrots
• 2 cups of mini potatoes sliced
• 1 cup of green or yellow onion
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 1 package of boneless and skinless chicken
• 1 cup of vegetable broth
• 1 can of cream of broccoli or mushroom soup
• Seasoning: salt, black pepper, basil and 1 bay leaf

Preparation:

This is one of the easiest recipes I’ve made to date. If you pre-prep the vegetables ahead of time, then assembly will be a snap.

• Pour all the vegetables into the crockpot except for the frozen peas and corn.
• Add in the broth and give it a stir.
• Place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables.
• Add seasoning as desired.
• Close lid. Cook on high for about 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
• In the last hour of cooking, add in the frozen corn and peas.
• Using a fork, you can shred the chicken right in the pot. Or remove the chicken, shred it, then add it back into the pot. Make sure to stir it well. Close the lid.
• Cook until chicken reaches 165F. The chicken will cook faster than the veggies.

Optional: for a creamier stew, add in some cream or a can of creamy soup and mix well. I used cream of broccoli soup and it was absolutely delicious!

Note: if you do add cream to the crockpot, note that the liquid can burn. Make sure to check the pot every now and then. This is why I add the cream in the last 30 minutes or so of cooking.

Serving: this recipe made enough for two meals, plus leftovers for just me. I filled up 2 round Rubbermaid containers and there is still some leftover.

Side dish: this is a really hearty stew and very filling on its own. You can make biscuits or garlic bread to dip into the stew. I made some toast with leftovers yesterday and it was amazing.

Sorry I don’t have many pictures. I was so hungry that I dished it up right away!

Make sure to check out my FOOD page for more recipes like this one.

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What are your favorite crockpot recipes this time of year? Let me know in the comments — and definitely share with me your favorite YouTube food channels!