Recipe #1: CFS Stew

Today, I make stew. It's been a few weeks since the last time I made stew and I figured it was about time. I thought I'd give a recipe of sorts for this stew. It isn't very hard but it does take awhile. And believe you me it is worth it.

INGREDIENTS

2 Pre-cooked rotisserie chickens

2 Bags of carrots (of 10 to 15 carrots each)

1 Bag of celery

1 Bag of potatoes, you can pick the kind but I prefer the big yellow ones.

1 Clove of garlic

1 Box of Goya chicken bullion

1 Box of chicken broth

1 Medium to large pan

2 Large pots

1 Strainer

1 Long wooden spoon

PROCESS

Take 1 potato, 2 carrots, 1 celery stick, and 1 piece of garlic. Peel the carrots and potato, then cut every thing. It's important to not throw the peelings away.

Get a medium to large pan, pour in olive oil and slosh it around until it covers the pan. Now put every thing in the pan once it starts sizzling. Keep it in there until it's all brown, stirring occasionally.

Take the two rotisserie chickens and peel all the meat off. Put the bones, skin and other miscellanea in one bowl and all the useable meat in another. this should take about a half-hour.

Once all the meat is deboned, put it in the fridge, you won't need it for a while. Take all the bones, browned vegetables and peelings and throw it in a Large pot, and I mean a really big pot, along with 2 packets of chicken bullion, another piece of garlic, and 1 cup of chicken broth. Fill the pot with water up to three to four inches from the top.

Put the pot, which by now should be heavy with bones and water and such, on to the stove top. Put it on high and wait until it boils.

Once it does boil, stir it for a few seconds and drop the heat until medium.

This is the longest part. Let it boil on medium for about three hours, stirring every twenty minutes or so. Add in what ever you think it needs. I usually drop in some salt, garlic powder, and more chicken bullion every now and then. If there's one thing I learned from my dad about cooking it's not to worry about exact proportions and time, just feel it out. But not literally because, hey, boiling.

About an hour and a half into cooking, start peeling potatoes, and carrots. Cut the carrots, potatoes, and celery into good sized pieces.

Once those three hours are up take it off the heat. Put another big pot, this one doesn't have to be quite as big as the other, in the sink. Put a strainer in the pot. Now carefully pour the contents of the Big big pot through the strainer into the smaller big pot. Once all the broth is out throw the bones and such away, you won't be needing it anymore. Make sure the strainer is one of those wire-y ones or else bones might slip through.

Pour the broth back into the Big big pot, after making sure that there are no bones or other ephemera in said pot.

Dump all of the chicken and vegetables into the pot with the broth. I usually put another piece of garlic in with it but that's just a personal preference. I also put 1 packet of chicken bullion and 1 more cup of chicken broth in there with a cup or two of water, to give it more broth.

Put it back on the stove on high. When it boils, drop it to medium again. Stir it every ten minutes or so. Let it sit on medium for an hour.

After the hour is up, it's ready to eat. But caution! it will be boiling lava hot. I usually let it sit for five to ten minutes. When it cools off a little there will be a film over the top of it. this part is delicious, just so you know.

And there you have it, CFS Stew. What does the "CFS" stand for you ask? That's simple: Chock Fulla S#!+. It's aptly named because it is full to the brim with chicken and veggies. I was sick of getting stew that was basically broth and you had go on a scavenger hunt for the good stuff. that's why I put so much in it. Enjoy it with your friends and family. It'll feed a bunch of people. I hope you like it.

Best!