Food Pantry Stew

[Lyric]

So today, leftyclimber was kind enough to give my partner a ride out to the Armory, so we could pick up the stuff that we applied for in regard to assistance with holiday food and presents for the kidlet. We got some cute little gifts for OktoberKid, including one of those "specific" Lego sets that was Spiderman-themed (to build a Spiderman Lego car, I think) as well as an "Operation" game and a small play gun that shoots Nerf-like darts. They also gave us some assorted "little" things as stocking stuffers. But the bulk of what we got was food--typical food-pantry fare, but lots more of it than usual.

Anyway, most of the food was canned goods--specifically, canned veggies. We had some boneless chicken thighs in the freezer that needed to be used, so we are making Food Pantry Stew!

This involves:

1 lb finely-chopped boneless uncooked chicken thigh meat
1 can chopped whole new potatoes
1/2 can peas
1/2 can corn
1 can sliced carrots
1/3 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
Assorted seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, etc.)
2 cups reconstituted powdered chicken broth

1. Mix up broth ahead of time, heat, and keep handy
2. Melt butter in big stew pot
3. In a bowl, toss chopped chicken with seasonings until well-mixed, then add flour and mix until chicken is coated.
4. Fry minced chicken in hot butter until cooked and very hot. Add a little more butter if you need to--you don't want it to be totally dry.
5. Add hot broth slowly, 1/2 cup at a time, keeping everything hot and simmering, and stirring as the gravy/sauce thickens and forms.
6. Add veggies; stir and bring back to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low, put a lid on, and cook for about a half-hour, stirring occasionally.

Voila! Food Pantry Stew. Very simple, of course, and not the least bit low-fat, but still good--and it's a great way to use up canned veggies. A few potential ways to make it differently might be to replace 1/2 cup of the broth with white wine, different seasonings (rosemary would be good) and/or using a different variety of veggies. I'd have added onions and a little celery, but alas, we have none. Anyway--that's our dinner tonight! Leftyclimber--you and Betaben are more than welcome to come have home, since you helped us carry those monster bags home, lol.

:hi:

[KamaAina]

1. Dang! Get these two on the Food Channel immediately!

What would work better in the aftermath of the Bush/Paulson economic meltdown than "Two Poor Ladies"?

Of course, in keeping with the theme, the white wine would have to be Vendange or something. :puke:

[Lyric]

2. !!!

:rofl:

Does Mad Dog make a white version???

:P

[KamaAina]

3. I dunno. Ask Midlo.

Rocking the box would work, too. :P

[AwakeAtLast]

4. Sounds really good

Post it in the Cooking & Baking Group!

I'm not a pea lover, so I would use green beans instead, but otherwise you have a good meal. I'll bet the leftovers (if there are any) taste even better!

:9

[Lyric]

5. It was excellent!

Very warm, hearty, and filling. Perfect for a cold winter day. We grilled some thick-sliced homemade bread to go with it. Yum!

[astral]

6. Sounds pretty good, except you must NEVER

run out of onions,garlic, or shallots. Celery's pretty high on the list too, but beneath the others.

Onions in anything make it a good home-cooked meal.