Creamy Chicken and Tomato Stew

Is it stew or is it soup?  I am not sure.  But what it is, is comfort food.  I bought this all chicken cookbook on my honeymoon some 25 years ago.  I believe it was maybe $10 Canadian.  I have gotten my money’s worth.  As always, I followed a recipe but added a few flavors to suit my taste.

Browning Whole Chicken for flavor

                                                             

Add pulled chicken back to pot

Recipe
Cream Tomato & Chicken Stew:

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in dutch oven and brown chicken over medium high heat – 4 – 5 minutes per side
2. Remove Chicken, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute 2 diced yellow onions, 1 shallot and 2 cloves garlic for 3 minutes picking up all the flavors of the pan.  Add 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper and 1 tsp each of smoked paprika and turmeric and remove from pot
3. Saute 2 – 7 oz cartons of fresh mushrooms until golden brown and add back in onion mixture
4. Add 1 29 oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of chicken stock and 3/4 cup of light half and half and bring to a boil
5. Reduce to a simmer and add the whole chicken back to the dutch oven for poaching the chicken until tender
6. Remove chicken, let cool for 10 minutes and pull before adding back to pot
7. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 30 minutes