Some days you just want to be able to use whatever’s left in your vegetable drawer. One really easy way to do that is through slow cooked stews. Slow cooking ensures really flavourful sauces and melt in your mouth meat cuts. Today’s version was a way to use the excess potatoes, cauliflower and carrots that came with my organic veggie box from the week before. The one thing these veggies have in common is that they usually take a little longer to cook (as opposed to leafy greens and sprouts), so they’re perfect candidates for slow cooking. Slow cooking is a great option for weekends, as you can make huge batches of food with minimum effort. I ran errands in the 5-6 hours this dish took. Enjoy 
Ingredients:
2 kg chicken legs
6 medium sized potatoes, cubed*
1/2 medium sized cauliflower (cut into florets)
2 carrots, diced*
2 onion, chopped finely*
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely*
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 cups chicken stock
coconut oil (approx. 4 Tbsp)
salt, pepper
mixed dried herbs
*Tip – A Nicer Dicer or similar tool is a quick way to cube and chop veggies.
Tip 2 – You can use your own mix of 4-5 cups of chopped veggies.
Make It!
Prepare the veggies. Brown the chicken in a pan, just enough to seal all sides.** This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes per batch. (2 kg of chicken legs is approx. a dozen pieces, so it can take 2 batches of frying). Add vegetables to the bottom of the slow cooker. Add chicken. Add stock, beans and canned tomatoes. Stock should be enough to cover at least halfway through the mix (slow cooking release more liquid from the veg). Sprinkle herbs (I used around 2 Tablespoons of mixed dried herbs, but feel free to vary quantity). Add salt and pepper (I used approx. 2 tsp each of salt and pepper). Mix through. Set slow cooker onto High setting for 5-6 hours, or on Low for 7-8 hours. Serve with a small bowl of rice, or buttered toasted sourdough.
**If you are pressed for time you can skip this step (browning the chicken), but I find that it adds more flavour to the final result. If you are in a hurry, you can just season the chicken with salt and pepper and add it on top of the veggies and still have a great dish. You can’t really go wrong with slow cooking!
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