Chicken Thigh and Lentil Stew

Wednesday night, getting home in a rainstorm, and, now to figure out dinner. It’s nights like this that I wish I’d put up the slow cooker. Walk into an beautiful smelling house with something hot ready to eat. Unfortunately not this night. But I still feel like a hearty stew, let me see what I have in the fridge. I had defrosted some chicken thighs, and, have lentils in the closet. And, that’s how chicken thigh and lentil stew came to be, it’s delicious and hearty, I think you’ll like it.

I’m a firm believer of utilizing what you have in the house to make a meal. I do my shopping on a regular basis, take advantage of sales, and freeze as much as possible. Apart from holidays and such, most of us are creatures of habit, don’t deviate too much from the same menu. That makes it easier to know what to buy and keep in the kitchen. I breakdown the packs of food into meal size, using storage containers to keep things orderly. A piece of tape and a magic marker tells me what’s inside.

I’ll take out of the freezer what I think I’ll need every few days. May sound a little too organized for some, but it’s worth it.

Well, no time for procrastination, let’s start prepping. Next time you prep a quick meal, take note of the time you start to the time you’re done cutting and dicing everything, it’s less time than you think. Sometimes we make something seem bigger than it really is. I like to prep everything before I cook, just seems to make everything go easier.

On this particular occasion I have boneless chicken thighs. Normally I would debone, and remove the skin. The bones go in the freezer to make some stock later. Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, put in a bowl with some kosher salt and coarse ground pepper. Let it sit while the rest of the ingredients are prepped.

Everything starts with a mirepoix, onion, carrot and celery, with some garlic and green pepper thrown in, all diced up. When making a soup or stew I like to use one pot for cooking, keeps all the flavors. Preheat a soup pot over medium heat. Add some oil, when hot add the onion and garlic, when that softens add the chicken, let that all cook together for about 5 mins or so. You’ll see a bit of a color on the meat, onions and garlic, it’s a good thing. This is the Maillard reaction, it’s essential to make the flavors and colors of the dish.

Now add the rest of the vegetables and the seasoning. Some garlic powder to bring out the garlic flavor, and, some complete seasoning, I love this stuff, for the rest of the flavors. Rinse the lentils and add too. The lentils will start to absorb any moisture, and right now the moisture is flavorings from the onions, meat and vegetables. Stir that up well, get everything mixed up. Now add the chicken stock (about 4 cups), stir well, bring to a boil, and simmer for 1/2 hr. covered, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and allow to cool maybe 10 mins, serve with a garnish, and, that’s it, enjoy chicken thigh and lentil stew.