Chicken stew.

You know you want it.

It's the ultimate in comfort food...the ready remedy for a cold, a rumbly belly, a chill. I can't stay away from this, even in summer.

As my friend Tanya in Alabama says..."So good, your toungue'll beatcher brains out."

Now. I know there are some of you haters out there on the interwebs. Chicken stew in summer?! Pshaw. Bleeve me, you gotta try it. (If you're smart and happen to have two crock pots, try it with the bread recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and this method of baking the bread. Fabulous stew, fabulous bread, no heating up the house. Total win.)

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but alas, I can only take credit for perfecting it to my standards. Lucky for you, I took a picture of the finished product. Unlucky for you, I forgot pics of the process, so you'll have to imagine that part till I cook 'er up again.

You'll notice, since you followed the link to the recipe that it calls for two carrots, two stalks of celery, half a cup of white wine, a four pound chicken. Hogwash, I say. Double it. Double everything! This is so good, trust me, you WANT leftovers. I use a 6-quart Rival slow cooker, and really, if you double the recipe, you really do need a cooker of that size. I believe (though this is admittedly unverified) you can stick to the recipe as written with a 4 quart slow cooker. The only thing you really shouldn't double is the noodle portion of the recipe. I can't imagine how that would turn out if you made all those noodles for a regular-sized batch.

So...choppity chop those vegetables, then get them in the slow cooker. You can proceed with the rest of the recipe as follows...OR, if you're smart, because you're getting free advice here, you'll try it my way, which is easier. The following is what I personally do with this recipe, and it turns out great every time. However, as with all advice on the interwebs, YMMV.

1. Double everything, except for the noodles. (More about those in a minute).
2. Use precooked chicken (or, incidentally, turkey) to use up leftovers and save time and steps.
3. If using precooked chicken, add stock (either your own or store bought) when you add the wine and seasonings to the vegetables. Add the shredded, precooked chicken about an hourish before serving time. 
4. Make the noodles when you first put everything in the pot, then transfer them to a cutting board to dry for several hours. 
5. Cook the noodles in water flavored with a simple boullion cube, then add them to the pot about half an hour before cooking is done. 
6. THOU SHALT THICKEN THE STEW. Use Wondra flour, starting with about two tablespoons liberally sprinkled in. Go away for ten minutes. Come back. Determine whether the stew is of adequate thickness. Add more Wondra, a teaspoon or so at a time, till you get the thick, stewlike consistency you like. Do this LAST, since the noodles will add a certain amount of thickness themselves. 

More about the noodles....these ain't yo' mamma's noodles, unless, y'know, she's the noodle making type. They are thick and have a dense chewiness that you can't replicate in a dry, packaged noodle. They are very old world and seem slightly like dumplings. You CAN use boring old egg noodles you buy off the shelf, but part of the charm of this recipe is that it feels just so darn home made. Right now, bow your head. Make a silent promise to yourself that even IF you cheat and buy the noodles, you will absolutely try making them at least once. And then you will come back to my blog and thank me, because I was so very, very right. 

Happy Yum,

Simplerella