Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

A light, but still hearty chicken stew competes with beef stew for its intense flavor and popularity! 

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of roasted chicken gravy
• 1/2 c dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• dash garlic powder to 1/4 tsp
• 1 tsp instant chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp salt to taste
• 12 boneless chicken thighs, or 4 chicken breasts
• 8 oz fresh whole mushrooms, cut in half (cremini, shitake or brown mushrooms, or a mixture of all three
• 2 cups baby-cut carrots or whole carrots, sliced into small chunks
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• Optional: 1 c frozen peas, stirred into the stew the last 5 minutes

Procedure:

1. Lightly oil slow cooker with olive oil.
2. Toss potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms into the larg slow cooker.
3. Arrange chicken on top, slicing chicken into bite sized chunks if prefer.
4. Add seasonings, onion, and garlic over chicken.  If using fresh sliced onions, my preference, thinly slice one whole onion and use in place of the dried onions.
5. Stir tomato paste into jar of gravy.  Pour gravy and wine over all.
6. Cover and cook on low 8 – 10 hours or until vegetables are tender. 

Variations:  Dip chicken pieces in flour and place in hot skillet, to lightly brown in olive oil before  placing in slow cooker.