Warm Up This Fall with Peasant Stew

As the temperature drops and winter draws near, there is nothing cozier than a bowl of warm, delicious stew. Dust off the crock pot and serve up a satisfying meal that takes little effort but offers plenty of healthy nutrients.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 chicken thighs (about 1-1/2 pounds), skinned
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, undrained
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream 

Preparation:

1. Combine cumin, salt and pepper; sprinkle over chicken.
2. Place chicken in an electric slow cooker; stir in onion, tomatoes and chiles. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for three hours. Stir in beans, cover. Cook on high-heat setting one hour. 
3. Place one chicken thigh in each of six soup bowls. Ladle 1-1/4 cups stew into each bowl. Top each serving with two teaspoons cilantro and two teaspoons sour cream.

Nutritional Information:Amount per serving

• Calories: 214
• Calories from fat: 16 percent
• Fat: 3.9 g
• Saturated fat: 1.4 g
• Monounsaturated fat: 0.9 g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.9 g
• Protein: 21.5 g
• Carbohydrate: 23.7 g
• Fiber: 6 g
• Cholesterol: 61 mg
• Iron: 3 mg
• Sodium: 773 mg
• Calcium: 85 mg

The recipe yields six servings.

This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light (August 2002).