Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe

Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe

My husband and I made this last night and it turned out perfect! A new staple in our house for sure! And so perfect for fall! This one has more steps then our normal recipes but its so worth it!!!

While low in calories and fat, a bowlful of this hearty stew easily satisfied my craving for comfort food. Also, butternut squash is high in Vitamins A and C, as well as fiber, so I knew I was getting a well-rounded meal to keep my body healthy for my daily WODS.

This stew can be made in advance, but you may need to add a little more chicken broth before serving because the quinoa will expand as it sits. Either way, the flavors and textures are fantastic and it is sure to become a cold-weather favorite.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. chicken Breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
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3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside. Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.

2.In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool.

3. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl. Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.

4. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Add the salt, minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.

6. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.

7. Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.

8. Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.

9. Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.

10. Stir in parsley and serve.

Notes

Calories 329 / Total Fat 14.1g / Saturated Fat 1.0 / Cholesterol 15.2mg / Sodium 1209mg / Total Carbohydrates 32.8g / Fiber 5.4g / Sugars 3.0g / Protein 19.4g / WW (Old Points) 7 / WW (Points+) 9

Hello Fall, You’ll never understand how much I love you! :)

Happy Fall everyone!!! The weather has been so perfect here! (Hopefully it stays this time!) I just got home from the store and went kind of crazy buying Pumpkins && Squash! This is by far my favorite time of year! I love all our different squash recipes we get to make this time of year! I’m sure y’all know how good squash is for you but do you know the health benefits?

Butternut Squash

Like all members of the gourd family (which includes pumpkin, melon, and cucumber), butternut squash is technically a fruit because it contains seeds. Cut into its pale, yellow-beige hard skin, though, and you’ll discover a vibrant flesh that’s much denser than that of its relatives.

Rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants — and succulent enough to warrant the moniker “butternut” — this graceful, hourglass-like gourd is the perfect addition to an autumn meal.

Health Benefits
Low in fat, butternut squash delivers an ample dose of dietary fiber, making it an exceptionally heart-friendly choice. It provides significant amounts of potassium, important for bone health, and vitamin B6, essential for the proper functioning of both the nervous and immune systems. The folate content adds yet another boost to its heart-healthy reputation and helps guard against brain and spinal-cord-related birth defects such as spina bifida.

Squash’s tangerine hue, however, indicates butternut’s most noteworthy health perk. The color signals an abundance of powerhouse nutrients known as carotenoids, shown to protect against heart disease. In particular, the gourd boasts very high levels of beta-carotene (which your body automatically converts to vitamin A), identified as a deterrent against breast cancer and age-related macular degeneration, as well as a supporter of healthy lung development in fetuses and newborns. What’s more, with only a 1-cup serving, you get nearly half the recommended daily dose of antioxidant-rich vitamin C.

As if this weren’t enough, butternut squash may have anti-inflammatory effects because of its high antioxidant content. Incorporating more of this hearty winter staple into your diet could help reduce risk of inflammation-related disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Cooking Tips
Butternut squash presents the home cook with incredibly easy culinary possibilities. You can just place it on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about an hour, or until you can pierce it with a sharp knife. Or remove the skin using a vegetable peeler and cut the flesh into chunks for steaming or sauteing. Once cooked, mash it, puree it for soup, fold it into a pasta or risotto dish, or simply savor your butternut squash as is.

How to Buy
Choose an unblemished fruit that feels heavy for its size with a matte, rather than glossy, skin. A shiny exterior indicates that the fruit was picked too early, and it won’t be as sweet as a fully grown squash. Most winter squash is available late into the fall. Store whole butternut squash in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) with plenty of ventilation; it should keep for up to three months. Cut squash will stay fresh for up to a week, wrapped, in the fridge.

Today’s WOD (It’s a good one!)

Good Morning all my blog friends!!! It is beautiful out this morning! We have the windows open for the first time in I don’t even remember how long. My husband does have to go into work today for a couple of hours but will be done for our Saturday AM crossfit, and then its home to get ready for football! The smell of fall air puts me in such a good mood its one of my favorite seasons! I love everything about it, football, Halloween, thanksgiving, pumpkin everything, hoodies, fires, coffee taste better, hot chocolate, scarves, jeans, scary movies, and just the cool fall air. Do y’all have a favorite season?

Today’s WOD

For Time:

15-10-5 Reps of:
Hand Release Push Ups
Pull Ups
Ab Mat Sit Ups
Squats
Toes-to-Bar
Run 300 meters after each round