Chicken Chorizo Stew from The Careless Cook

 

Chicken Chorizo Stew from The Careless Cook

 

I went into a local supermarket for a single item that had nothing to do with food.  But on the way to getting paper towels, I passed the meat counter and a small, innocuous sign that claimed if I bought one package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, they’d give me a second one FREE!

 

My cooking brain was immediately captured by the boundless possibilities.

 

As they say, follow your dream, but don’t pass up opportunities.  My dream was to buy paper towels…

 

But, once you start down the path of opportunistic occasions, you can’t just turn off the flow of creative juices.  Hey, sliced fresh mushrooms at half price certainly fell into that category.  Into my basket they went.  A package of baby carrots?  Certainly.  A can of Goya black beans, 30% off, likewise a small can of…

 

Men and women of the jury, do you blame an innocent and very careless cook for expanding his dream from paper towels to a proper repast?

 

What if Orville and Wilbur had stuck to just making bicycles, or Henry Ford had settled for making one tin lizzie at a time?  Think of Gordon Ramsey stopping after he gloried over his first peanut butter sandwich!

 

Of course the world would have been better off if the folks at the Wuhan Lab had been a tad more careful following their opportunities.  There are exceptions.

 

But, I wasn’t about to stop my dreams for chicken breasts just because others had minor shortcomings here and there!  My mind was churning far past chickens.  Wonderful, flavorful chicken Stew! Time to add some spice to my life!

 

Time to add some spice to yours!  Forget about ordering a pizza, or settling for a bowl of cereal.  Think big! Think marvelously tasty!  Think about….

 

Chicken Chorizo Stew by The Careless Cook

 

Ingredients

3 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 32 oz carton of chicken broth

2 cups baby carrots

1 large onion, diced (I used a sweet onion)

2 cups (1 package) sliced mushrooms

1 can black beans, strained and rinsed

1 small can mild, diced chiles

1 large chorizo sausage, quartered and sliced (I used the hot Portuguese version of chorizo)

Several stalks of fresh oregano. 

Olive oil, as needed

 

But, as with any careless cook, if you don’t have exactly what you need, flex your culinary muscles.  No problem using another type of beans or onion, or peeling and chopping regular size carrots. Don’t like chorizo, use smoked sausage. No oregano in your kitchen garden?  Use the dried version, or pick another herb you like. Things are still going to turn out deliciously fine!

 

Puttin’ It Together

In a frying pan, sauté the mushrooms in a little olive oil until they are golden.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Remove mushrooms and onions from the pan and put them in a large soup pot.

In the same frying pan, add a little more oil and sauté the bite sized chicken chunks. When they’re browned, add them to the soup pot, along with the chorizo, the black beans and the green chilies.  Pour in the chicken broth.  Toss in the stalks of oregano. Cook on medium heat and give the stew a quick stir. 

Put the top on the soup pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Remove the oregano stalks before serving.

 

Yes, it is delicious!  Yes, you should give yourself a pat on the back.  I suggest putting down your glass of wine before you do that.

 

Now time to follow the opportunity for another glass full to accompany this wonderful and remarkably careless meal.