Chicken and Rice Slow Cooker Stew

The weather is getting cold here and its

time to dust off some of my heartier soups and stew recipes.

This is just a basic chicken and rice soup but

I added some chick peas for extra protein

(and because my tiny toddler who needs to pack on a few pounds seems to be much more

attracted to anything with beans in it)

Feel free to leave those out or replace them with your favorite variety

of white or kidney bean instead.

 

You don't need a lot of crazy stuff for this one, it's one of those

'OOPs, I forgot to plan my dinner for tonight what can I throw together in a pot'

kind of meals so feel free to tinker with the seasonings

and add in's- this one is SUPER hard to mess up!

Here is what I used today:

1 1/2 Cups brown rice (not minute or instant rice)

1 pound of chicken (you can use breast, thigh or leftover roasted chicken like me)

3 stalks chopped celery

1/2 cup or so chopped carrots

1 can drained and rinsed chick peas

1 medium onion, chopped

1 TBS Dijon mustard

a splash of Worcestershire sauce

~2 cups chicken stock (I use homemade that I made at the same time as my roasted chicken but you can also use boxed or canned if you don't have any in your freezer)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Now if you are lucky enough to have a helper like me

have him or her chop up the onion for you so you don't get all teary eyed!

Seriously, this bag of onions I bought is the most potent ones

I have had in long time, it's crazy how much they burn my eyes.

Fun trick I learned on food network though:

If you chop your onion next to a burning gas stove

(like when you are browning meat or something)

the gas flame does something to atomize the acid from the onion and removes 

it from the air like magic! 

OK- it's more like science than magic but it DOES work!

Anyhow, I was using pre-cooked chicken today so no need to turn on 

a burner so we both got a bit teary eyed.

Just throw all the chopped veggies  into the slow cooker

and top with the rice, chicken, beans and broth

Then stir in the mustard,

splash the Worcestershire sauce over the top and sprinkle on the 

paprika, thyme and pepper (again- feel free to tweak these seasonings!)

Close it up 

and turn it on.

If you are using pre-cooked chicken this only needs 4-5 hours on low

but if your chicken is uncooked breasts or thighs.

I would stick to 8 hours on low.

Leave it and forget it and then at the end of your busy day you have this:

 

So good and so simple!

~Eat well, Be well

Patty