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It’s cold. It’s windy. It’s snowing. It’s Chicago in January. It’s the perfect time to get in the kitchen and whip up my Winter Stew! Weather you are experiencing my kind of winter or are lucky enough to live somewhere warm, Winter Stew is a delightful dish to satisfy any type of winter day (or Fall or Spring day for that matter….).

In a large saucepan, saute all the vegetables in 2-3 tablespoons olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Next, add your spices, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes blending the vegetables and spices. Add the diced tomatoes, cooked chicken, water and black beans and stir well. Bring to a rapid boil for 5 minutes then cover and reduce heat to a simmer and cook an additional 15 minutes. Adjust your seasoning to your liking and your stew is ready to serve! I like to top the stew with a few sprigs of fresh basil for added flavor.

Note: I often use a cooked rotisserie chicken from my grocery store for the chicken portion of this recipe (makes life so much easier!). Also, you can easily substitute different kinds of beans: cannellini, kidney, even garbanzo beans all taste delicious in this stew. Same with the veggies — you can add or delete any variation that pleases your family’s tastes. I have a friend whose kids will not eat mushrooms. Omit them then!

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
½ green pepper, diced
1 small onion, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
5-6 button mushrooms, cubed
3 tablespoons fresh basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of black pepper
dash of salt
3 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes (with all juices)
2 cups cooked chicken
½ cup water
1 can black beans

Makes roughly 6 servings

This recipe is adapted from Gimme Some Oven’s Tomato Basil Chicken Stew.

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