Babushka's Slow Cooker Root Vegetable and Chicken Stew

This is a really tasty, mostly hands-off recipe, great for using holiday leftovers and a good hearty meal. Freeze leftovers for a later date.

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Cooking Time: 7 hr
• Total Time: 7 hr 40 mins
• Calories: 296 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 (32 fluid ounce) container vegetable broth
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 ½ pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
• 4 stalks celery with some leaves, coarsely chopped
• 4 medium red potatoes - peeled, halved, and cubed
• 1 rutabaga - peeled, halved, and cubed
• 2 medium turnips - peeled, halved, and cubed
• 1 ½ cups cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat a saute pan over medium-low heat. Cook chicken thighs in batches just until skin starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't overcook; the meat should still be pink and raw on the inside. Set chicken aside in a bowl, reserving juices in the pan.

Step 2

Saute onion and celery in the pan until turning translucent and browning at the edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Step 3

Add potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic to the onion-celery mixture. Sprinkle salt, herbes de Provence, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper on top. Stir and mix vegetables until coated.

Step 4

Place 1/2 of the vegetable mixture in a slow cooker. Add 1/2 of the chicken. Layer remaining vegetables and chicken on top. Pour vegetable broth over the mixture in the slow cooker.

Step 5

Cook on Low for 7 hours, gently stirring every few hours if desired.

Step 6

Use tongs to remove chicken from the stew. Let cool. Separate skin and bones from the meat and shred meat. Stir meat back into the slow cooker.