Hearty Chicken Stew

     Hello!  It's Recipe Tuesday and today's recipe for chicken stew comes from the Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker cookbook.  This hearty stew is easy to make and absolutely delicious; the medley of vegetables and seasonings make this the perfect stew for a cold winter day. 
     When preparing this dish I prefer to use meat from a rotisserie chicken rather than chicken thighs as recommended in the original recipe. I'm a fan of white meat and find the flavorful rotisserie chicken adds a bit more seasoning to the stew.

Hearty Chicken Stew 

• 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 3 carrots, peeled
• 8 oz whole mushrooms
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or meat from 1 rotisserie chicken)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1.  Preheat oven to 375. Cut potatoes into chunks, dice onion and cut carrots into 1/2" pieces.  Cut mushrooms into quarters.  Cut chicken into 1" pieces.  Combine potatoes, onion, carrots, mushrooms, chicken, rosemary, pressed garlic, salt and pepper in large bowl; mix well.

2.  Whisk together broth, tomato paste and cornstarch in separate bowl until cornstarch is dissolved.  Pour into chicken mixture; mix well.  Pour chicken mixture into large oven-safe casserole dish. 

3.  Bake, covered, 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours or until potatoes are tender, stirring after 45 minutes.

4.  Meanwhile, zest lemon.  Remove stew from oven.  Stir in zest and chopped parsley.  Let stand, covered, 10 minutes or until stew has thickened.  Enjoy!