Mom’s Chicken Stew

From Mom’s recipe card. Sounds a whole lot like Chicken Gumbo, but there’s a world of difference in the details.

Ingredients:

1 fryer (cut up)

2 onions, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

6 tbsp oil

6 tbsp flour

1/2 cup green onions

1 1/2 quarts boiling water

Preparation:

Chop all the vegetables first.

Make a roux with the flour and oil.
(Stir over medium fire in a heavy dutch oven
until the color of peanut butter – don’t let it burn!)

When the roux reaches the right color, dump the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in (to stop the roux from burning) and stir occasionally until the onions are soft and clear.

Add boiling water slowly and stirring as you pour.

When the whole mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes.

In a skillet brown the cut-up fryer which is seasoned with salt and pepper in just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Add browned chicken to the stew – put about 1 cup of the stew liquid into the skillet to get up the chicken juices, then pour back into the pot.

Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1/2 hour.

Correct the seasonings to taste and serve over rice.

Freezes well.