So I’ve had these chicken thighs sitting around for a while, and I couldn’t decide what to do with them. I didn’t want to only grill them, so I decided to get the crock pot out and make some sort of stew.

The end results were surprisingly good! Although it might look like a stringy mess, it tastes absolutely delicious. The peppers cooked down so they are virtually nonexistent, but the mushrooms give a nice texture change. I’ve found that it ends up tasting even better after it’s been sitting in the fridge overnight – and now I have enough leftovers for the rest of the week.

If you’re looking to up the fat content (as this is a bit low), you can add some olive oil for richness – or serve it with cheese on top. I normally use this with my breakfast of scrambled eggs, spinach, and cheese. Mix it all together and I have a quick and tasty breakfast.

Let me know what you do with yours!

Yields 8 (1-cup) servings of Hearty Crock Pot Chicken Stew

The Preparation

1 medium green bell pepper
3 cups button mushrooms
48 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 cups low-carb tomato sauce, such as Rao's
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, sliced
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ranch seasoning
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's
3 tablespoons butter

The Execution

1. Chop up your mushrooms and peppers into thin slices.

2. Get your crock pot out and turn it to high heat.

3. Add your chicken thighs, tomato sauce, sliced tomato, garlic, spices, and hot sauce to the crock pot.

4. Add your peppers and mushrooms to the chicken mixture.

5. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

6. Let this simmer on high for 2 hours.

7. Turn crock pot to low, and give a slow stir to the ingredients. Let this cook for 3-5 more hours.

8. Add 3 tablespoons butter to your stew and mix together. I added ½ teaspoon xanthan gum to slightly thicken – but it should have reduced some.

9. Let cook for 1 more hour without the top, so that the sauce can reduce.

10. Serve hot, or save it in the fridge – it saves well and can be reheated in the microwave!

If I need to up the fat, I will break this up into 10 servings and usually eat it with breakfast – eggs and cheese.

This makes a total of 8 servings of Hearty Crock-Pot Chicken Stew. Each serving comes out to be 317 calories, 20g fats, 4.9g net carbs, and 31.9g protein.

NUTRITION	CALORIES	FAT	CARBS	FIBER	NET CARBS	PROTEIN
1 medium green bell pepper	23	0.2	5.4	2	3.4	1
3 cup button mushrooms	103	1.6	15.3	4.7	10.6	14.5
48 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs	1946	121.5	0	0	0	230.8
1 1/2 cup low-carb tomato sauce	88	0.7	21.3	5.5	15.8	4.8
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes	15	0.2	3.2	1	2.2	0.7
2 teaspoon fresh garlic	8	0	1.9	0.1	1.8	0.4
2 teaspoon ranch seasoning	14	0	2.6	0.2	2.4	1
2 teaspoon paprika	13	0.6	2.5	1.6	0.9	0.7
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes	6	0.3	1	0.5	0.5	0.2
1 teaspoon dried oregano	4	0.1	1	0.6	0.4	0.1
1/3 cup hot sauce	8	0.3	1.3	0.2	1.1	0.4
3 tablespoon butter	305	34.5	0	0	0	0.4
Totals	2533	160	55.4	16.4	39	254.8
Per Serving (/8)	317	20	6.9	2	4.9	31.8