Tomato Chicken Stew

Last week my mother asked me if I wanted to prepare something for dinner using the chicken thighs we had sitting in the fridge. She knows that I am always looking for opportunities to bake and cook more, especially cook since I am trying to learn more about it. I decided to use a recipe that I had tried previously with chicken breasts.

The original recipe did not make the chicken into a stew, however I added so much liquid in my adaptation that the final product became quite soup/stew like. I actually enjoyed the way it turned out as opposed to my previous version because it was very flavorful and the broth was excellent for dipping some bread into. Unfortunately I did not exactly measure out how much I was using of each ingredient...I eyeballed most of it. On the one hand that makes it difficult to repeat the recipe; on the other it makes me happy because it means my cooking skills are growing, and so is my confidence in coming up with new recipes and adaptations.

Tomato Chicken Stew

• 1 lb chicken, cut into chunks
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, roughly quartered
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1  28 oz. can plum tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped dill and cilantro

1. In a large pan, fry onions over high heat until soft and yellow.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms and fry until mushrooms are nice and brown.
3. Add sliced garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
4. Return heat to high and add the chicken, seasoning with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until all of the chicken turns white and no pink is visible.
5. Using your fingers, gently crush the tomatoes and then add the tomatoes, together with all their juices, to the pan. At this point, you may want to transfer the mixture to a large pot because there will be a lot of liquid. 
6. Add all of the herbs and mustard and stir through. 
7. Boil the stew for 15 minutes. In the last minute, add the chopped dill and cilantro and stir through.