Babushka's Hearty Chicken and Root Veggie Stew in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 stalks celery with some leaves, coarsely chopped
• 4 medium red potatoes - peeled, halved, and cubed
• 1 rutabaga - peeled, halved, and cubed
• 2 medium turnips - peeled, halved, and cubed
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 ½ cups cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (32 fluid ounce) container vegetable broth

Step 1

Heat a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Cook the chicken thighs in batches, just until the skin begins to brown—about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don’t worry if the inside is still a bit pink; you’ll finish cooking it in the slow cooker. Set the chicken aside in a bowl, but keep those flavorful juices in the pan.

Step 2

Add the onion and celery to the same pan and cook them until they turn translucent and start to brown around the edges, which should take about 5 minutes. Transfer those to a large bowl.

Step 3

Now, toss in the potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic with the onion and celery. Sprinkle salt, herbes de Provence, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper over the veggies. Give everything a good stir so the seasonings coat all the pieces evenly.

Step 4

Put half of the vegetable mixture into your slow cooker, then layer half of the chicken on top. Repeat with the remaining veggies and chicken. Pour the vegetable broth over everything.

Step 5

Set the slow cooker to low and let it cook for about 7 hours. If you want, you can give it a gentle stir a couple of times during the day, but it’s not necessary.

Step 6

When it’s done, use tongs to take the chicken out and let it cool for a bit. Remove the skin and bones, shred the meat, and then stir it back into the stew before serving.