CHICKEN BARLEY STEW

Well kids , summer has finally arrived to Ottawa, the weather has been downright balmy and yes I should be blogging about a beautiful summer salad or cold gazpacho,but hubby was in the mood for a comfy cozy stew/soup. As luck would have it I just came across just the thing in the Clean Eating magazine, a new take on the standard beef barley soup. The bonus to this recipe is that you make it in the crock pot the night before and voila supper is ready for the next day.
We woke up this morning to the wonderful fragrance of this hearty stew/ soup and had to fight down the urge to have it for breakfast, so we did the next best thing and had it for lunch.

Chicken Barley Stew

32 oz. low fat/ sodium chicken broth

1 T.minced garlic

1 tsp. garlic sea salt

1/2 T. thyme

1/2 T. basil

1/2 T. cilantro

1/2 T dill

2 bay leaves

1/2 T. freshly ground pepper

1 lb. cubed boneless, skinless chicken breast (uncooked)

1/2 cup uncooked black -eyed peas, rinsed

1/2 c. barley

1 medium sweet onion, cubed

3 large carrots cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch slices( I cubed them)

3 potatoes cleaned and cubed

8 T. low fat sour cream (optional)

Fill a slow cooker with broth, 8 oz water. garlic, herbs, and pepper. add chicken, peas and barley, then layer the onion,potatoes and carrots over top. liquid should just cover the vegetables. Do not stir.

Allow to simmer overnight. or at least 4-6 hours. Remove bay leaves before serving. Spoon one cup into each bowl and garnish with sour cream if desired. (230 cal. without sour cream)