Freezer 911-Autumn Chicken Stew

The current weather conditions in Michigan have definitely kept me inside.  What have I been doing with all of this free time?  Cooking and cleaning of course.  About every 3 months I go through the freezer and we eat whatever "Freezer Fall-backs"  meals from last season.  I also cook meals from any frozen meat or veggies I find tucked away in my freezer.  By doing this I know I am always rotating my food and eating it instead of wasting it!  So much food gets wasted just because we don't know what we have. This also forces me to get out of a cooking rut.  It's fun to try new recipes and have an activity for my bored teenage son.  Sometimes he cooks and other times he is just the taste tester.  This recipe used up some frozen cider I had from the fall and turkey stock I made from my Thanksgiving bird.  I also used frozen cooked chicken meat.  I had more than 4 cups so I am going to make BBQ chicken pizza for dinner tonight.  No pictures yet but I will post them when I have them. Take it One Prep at a Time, Chef Jackie     Autumn Chicken Stew

1 medium onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 ½ cups apple cider 2 Tbs butter or olive oil 6 cups chicken stock 2 small turnips, peeled and diced (optional) 3 parsnips, peeled and diced 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced 3 carrots, peeled and diced 1 cup rutabaga or (1 small whole) , peeled and diced (optional) 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger 4 cups cooked chicken 3-4 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch dissolved in a1/4 cup of water

In a heavy bottom stockpot heat butter or oil and sauté onions and garlic until golden brown. Deglaze with apple cider. Add chicken stock and remaining vegetables.     Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for an 45 minutes stirring occasionally or until vegetables are tender crisp. Add cooked chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add dissolved arrowroot and bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes until stew thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Servings: 8

Cooking Times Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 1 hour