Chicken & Apple Crockpot Stew

I made this with an organic whole roasting chicken, or old hen. It is tougher, and therefore cheaper, but then cooks down in the crockpot to become more tender. I tried non-crockpot recipes for hens and they were still tough, but not in the crockpot!!

This was so much better the second day. Of course it is gluten free and still low carb with 3 small apples (3 small apples = ~ 40 carbs but it serves six large meals).

I still am not sure how to cut up a whole chicken, but I cut off legs, wings, neck, large chunks of meat off the rib cage, and left the rib cage together. Then when it was done, I took out the rib cage and cut off any meat left on it, so that there would be less bones in the soup. Save the bones if you wish- to make a stock at a later date- freeze them!

This is a crockpot recipe!! (get one! so fab! saved me so much time already!!) If you find this recipe needs more flavor, add more chili powder and cumin but keep the ratio the same. I also added one single drop of hot sauce, which only gave it flavor- this dish is very mild, and on the sweet side.

Read through before trying and remember - this dish takes about 7½ hours to cook, and about 20 minutes to chop & prepare. Start it in the morning and finish it 45 minutes before dinner! I served mine with cornbread.

Chicken & Apple Crockpot Stew


1-3 Tablespoons of high quality coconut oil, palm oil, or lard
1 roasting hen or whole chicken, cut into large parts
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 sticks of celery, coarsely chopped
1
--> ½ Tablespoons (4.5 teaspoons) of arrowroot starch or cornstarch1 ½ cups organic chicken stock
½ cup water
3 small- medium apples, cored and cut into eighths, I used gala
2 bay leaves
1- 2 teaspoons honey
1 organic yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 Tablespoons chili powder (no, it won't be spicy)
2 teaspoons cumin
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken in batches and brown it all over but don't cook it - be especially careful on the breasts- just brown it for a few seconds, turn over, and take out immediately and put into you slow cooker.

Measure the stock and water (can add together) and keep next to the stove, in preparation. Add the onion and celery to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, until softened. Sprinkle in Arrowroot starch powder and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in water and stock slowly and bring to a boil, stirring the whole time. Stir in apple, bay leaves, agave, and seasonings (chili, cumin, nutmeg, s&p).

Pour mixture in crockpot over the chicken and cook on low for 6 ½ hours. At that point, test to make sure chicken is done by piercing the thickest part (maybe the leg near the bone) with a knife- it's done when the juices run clear- no pink or red. Stir in yellow bell pepper, re-cover, and cook on high for 45 more minutes.

Before eating, take out bay leaves. You can also remove the rib cage, but take the meat off of it and put it back in like I talked about above. Taste to adjust seasonings. Serve & enjoy!!!



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