Chicken Butternut Squash Stew

I'm doing this thing, no big deal, but this healthy eating thing. In case you're a regular, you may have noticed fewer baked goods on this blog of late. Don't panic, my sweet tooth is very much still intact but my desire to be healthy has muted it a bit.

Along these lines, I've tried to make balanced meals each week that have a good helping of protein and vegetables while not neglecting the grains. To the crockpot!

Butternut squash is a favorite for me, especially if it's soup. But I'm lazy when it comes to prep will sometimes cave and get the pre-peeled, pre-diced version. But those chunks always look a bit dry seeing as they've been exposed to air for awhile. So I decided to get clever. Although squash rinds look pretty thick, it's actually fairly easy to use a vegetable peeler! Amazing.

This soup came out more of a stew for me since I used 4 cups of broth instead of the recommended 5 cups. If you prefer soup to stew, you can add more liquid (either broth or water). The chicken, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, garlic, quinoa and squash all go in the crockpot and are covered with the broth.

Set to high for 3-4 hours (or low for twice that long), the liquid cooks a nice and tender chicken. Similar to the chicken tortilla soup, you can shred the chicken with a couple of fork. I used hefty sized garlic cloves so this had a strong garlic flavor (sorry, office mates) but you can season with pepper or paprika for a little more kick if you prefer.

Recipe

• 1-1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked but rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 4-5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1. In a crockpot, place the chicken breasts on the bottom. Pour the beans, tomatoes, squash, quinoa and garlic over the chicken. 
2. Stir carefully to mix ingredients.
3. Pour broth over ingredients. For more of a stew, use 4 cups. For a soup consistency, use closer to 5 cups.
4. Set the crockpot to high for 3-4 hours until chicken is cooked through and squash is tender (alternatively, cook on low for 6-8 hours).
5. Serve hot!