Fresh rosemary sprigs added at the end are the secret to this delicious chicken veggie stew.

Ice Storm Chicken and Veggie Rosemary Stew

I just had some and, if I don't mind saying it myself, it was SO good. Simple, flavorful...I'm in love with fresh rosemary.

Fresh rosemary, left and right, growing in my indoor herb garden. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Luckily I still have fresh rosemary growing in my dining room window so I can easily toss a few sprigs into whatever I’m making. It may be cold and icy outside but anything hot, like this soup, is a warm welcome.

This is the basic soup recipe I use when I want to clean out my crisper. If you want a soup, add more broth, water or wine; I wanted something hardier so I'm calling this a stew.

Ice Storm Chicken and Veggie Rosemary Stew Recipe

2 cans vegetable broth

3 cut up medium carrots

3 diced celery stalks

1 diced medium onion

1 cup water

1 tsp sea salt

Half of a diced green pepper (this was left over from a salad)

Cook on low until the vegetables are cooked, about half an hour or so.

Add I baked chicken breast, cut up into small pieces

3 3-inch fresh rosemary sprigs

Cut up mushrooms - I forgot to add those, will next time.

Continue cooking on low until chicken is integrated into the vegetable mixture and the rosemary blends in, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Makes 4 hearty servings.

I can imagine this with other vegetables - broccoli, green beans, zucchini leaving the fresh rosemary as the star.

A hedge of native cedars covered in snow and ice January 2022. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

It's too cold and dangerous to be outside because of the ice storm so I'm enjoying reading a book and playing in the kitchen. I'm lucky to have written this recipe down immediately after making it or I would not have remembered the ingredient amounts later. Friends and family know that's a regular hazard when enjoying meals at my house, they may never enjoy the same one again because I like to experiment.

Oh, I have recipe books. I collect recipe books and have some classics, from my Mother's Betty Crocker cookbook to the American Cooking Encyclopedia. I enjoy reading them. Much more fun to chop, mix and see what I can cook up on my own without a prompt - most of the time.

Ice Storm Chicken and Veggie Rosemary Stew is delicious the next day, too. Regardless of the weather!

Charlotte