Desperation in the Kitchen: My Famous Chicken Stew

I'll start off by saying that this is the first time I've ever written the recipe down and that the stew itself was an accident.

Back when we moved into our first NC house, and I was playing (part time) stay at home wife and mom, and trying to cook because 1) this is the sticks and there is NO place to get takeout on the regular and 2) we couldn't afford it and 3) I was in my late 20's and goodness, I NEEDED to learn how to cook. The original recipe was for chicken rice soup and I think it came from the Pioneer Woman. I think. It's been almost 8 years, you guys. I have no idea.

Eventually, I added a bunch more vegetables to this soup and replaced the rice with noodles. It's a texture issue with me, the rice.

But, let me wax poetic about this stew (and apologize about there not being a picture of the finished product in a bowl, the vultures descended shortly after I turned off the stove). If someone in the house gets a scratchy throat or just feels snotty, this stew gets made. Two days ago, Gabe came home from work and complained that he was feeling off. I asked him if he wanted me to make this stew and his face immediately lit up. My boss wasn't feeling well this weekend, so I made it on Saturday. He says it's the best chicken soup/stew/whatever he has ever had and y'all, this man has TRAVELED THE WORLD. High praise! Basically, I've made the stew twice in about 4 days, and I've already got an 11 year old asking me to make it again *sigh* It's a bit exhaustive of a recipe, but so worth it, I promise. Here goes!

Jo's Cure All Chicken Stew 

What you need:
Chicken Thighs (I'm not picky about many things in a recipe, but the thighs are a must)
Water
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
various vegetables (here's where I'm NOT picky: this time I used onions, peppers, carrots, celery, a green pepper, and some spinach)
butter (take two sticks, just to be safe)
all-purpose flour
chicken bouillion cubes
pasta (I had leftover bow tie pasta left, but I've used all kinds)
yellow food coloring (for color purposes only)

What you do:

Season your chicken thighs, throw in a pot and cover with water. Boil until meat is cooked through. When meat is cooked, remove it from the chicken stock (you just made chicken stock!) and leave it to cool a bit.

Chop your veggies. This is just my celery (and my super cool copper knife from Gabe!), but you guys get the picture.

Put 4 Tablespoons of butter into a pan. Melt. Add some flour (whatever looks right) and make a roux. Make it golden brown and pretty.

Add the roux to the chicken stock. My boss said this is where my recipe differs from most of the recipes he's seen. I add the roux at the beginning, and most of the time it is added at the end.

Throw a bit more butter into your roux pan, and add your veggie. Season with salt/pepper/garlic powder/whatever, and cook just a bit, until crisp-tender.

Toss veggies into the simmering stock.

This is a bouillion cube. It has way too much sodium, and I don't use them often. My grandma used them, and they never killed anybody. So, take one of these babies, and toss it in that pot.

Shred your chicken and throw that in the roux pan with some melted butter.

Throw that in the pot, add a few drops of yellow food coloring and simmer about ten more minutes til all the flavors meld together. It hasn't failed me yet!