Northwoods Chicken Stew Recipes

CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
• 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. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
• Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.
• Serving suggestion: crusty bread.

STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Season chicken with salt, pepper, thyme and garlic. Heat two tablespoons of oil in large frying pan over moderately high heat. Brown chicken, turning pieces once, about 4 minutes per side. Add a few teaspoons of water to skillet. Repeat a few times and then add watered flour to make a gravy. As chicken browns, add onions, cover pan and simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes so chicken will stew. (Typically back home in Belize onion was the only vegetable used with the chicken, however many Belizians that are now in the Unites States add bell pepper and tomatoes to this dish.)
• For the rice and beans: Clean beans and check for stones. Put beans in a stockpot with water to cover, thyme, onions, garlic and pepper. Do not add salt at this time because the beans will turn hard. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes and adding a little water if necessary. Cook until beans have softened. Add salt, coconut milk and uncooked rice. Cover and barely simmer over low heat (milk may easily burn) for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in large pot, saute onions for 2 minutes.
• Add next 7 ingredients.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add potatoes, carrots, and chicken.
• Simmer until vegetables are done, about 30 minutes.
• Thicken with cornstarch if you like a thicker stew.

NORTHWOODS CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In a large pot with a cover, melt butter over low heat. Add onions and Northwoods seasoning. Cover and cook ten minutes. Stir, add carrots and potatoes, stir again, cover and cook another ten minutes. Add chicken pieces, vinegar, and sugar, cover and continue to cook over medium heat for twenty minutes, turning chicken over once or twice. Push the pieces to the side of the pot and stir in the flour until smooth. Add chicken stock and burgundy (if using), in a slow stream, stirring until smooth and blended, add bay leaves, cover and cook thirty minutes. Check and stir the stew occasionally, if it is bubbling away, reduce the heat a bit to a simmer. After the thirty minutes, take out the chicken and remove as much of the skin as possible. It is easier to remove the skin at this point than when it is raw, and it adds great flavor to the stew. At this point, if the top of the stew looks a bit oily, blot up the excess with a few paper towels. Add the chicken back to the pot. Stir in sour cream if desired. Season with pepper to taste. The stew is done at this point, but will stay warm until ready to eat. Comments: Northwoods seasoning comes from Penzey's Spices. You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut down on the cooking time.

NORTH WOODS BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Place the carrots, celery and onion in a 5-qt. slow cooker. In a bowl or shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and turn to coat. Place beef over vegetables., In a small bowl, combine the soup, wine, tapioca, Italian seasoning, paprika, brown sugar, bouillon and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the top., Cover and cook on low until meat and vegetables are tender, 8-10 hours, adding mushrooms during the last hour. Serve with noodles., Freeze option: Freeze cooled stew in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add water if necessary.