cream of chicken stew

So, I made this stew the other day, and it is delicious. It is one of the best stews/soups I have ever had. It has a sweet flavor that is accented by some fabulous herbs and it is wonderful.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (cover in water and cook on low for a day on the stove or in a crock pot substitute chicken broth and cooked chicken)
• 2 cups of chicken broth (from the broth you made or good quality store bought) 
• Meat from 1 whole chicken cut up (you could use 6 chicken thighs)
• 2 Tbsp of butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• Optional red peppers, mushrooms, corn, peas, other veggies
• 2 tsp-1 Tbsp of sea salt (do not use if substituting store bought chicken broth)
• 1 tsp-1 Tbsp of pepper
• 2 tsp of dried thyme
• 2 tsp of dried rosemary
• 1 Tbsp of dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp of mustard
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• 2 cups of full fat milk (can substitute coconut milk)
• 1/2 cup of cream. This is optional, it tastes great with or without it.

To make the chicken broth and cook the chicken, Place the whole chicken in a stove or crock pot, (Remove the bag from the gizzards and cook them too) cover with water and cook on low for a day. You can add in herbs or veggies to make the broth more nutritious. Remove the chicken from the pot, carefully, into a large bowl. Let cool until you can manage to handle it. Remove the meat and put the bones back into the broth and continue to cook on low for a day. You can either continue to cook the gizzards in the broth, eat them, or put them in the stew. The next day you can strain out the bones and put into jars and keep in the refrigerator. this tastes great to cook rice, veggies, add to sauces or drink by itself. 

To make the stew, melt the butter in a pot (I like my dutch oven) and cook your vegetables until the onions become translucent. (If you are using raw chicken, add them in now and cook before adding everything else)  Add everything else and simmer for about an hour. 

Recipe inspired by the chicken stew recipe in the cookbook, "part time paleo"