Cheesy Chicken Stew

This Cheesy Chicken Stew is hearty, cheesy and delicious! Filled with delicious potatoes, carrots, savory chicken thighs and cheesy goodness, it's sure to please everyone in your house!

Ingredients:

- 4-6 chicken thighs (we prefer boneless skinless)

- 1 can carrots

- 1 can whole potatoes, cut into chunks

- 4 oz cream cheese, cubed for melting

- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped

- 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped

- Handful of shredded cheddar cheese

- 2 cups chicken broth

- 1-2 tbsp garlic powder

- 1-2 tbsp onion powder

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 1 tsp paprika

- 1-2 tsp sea salt

- 1 tsp Tony Chachere's (or black pepper)

- small amount of oil for searing

- leftover sauce from Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms, defrosted (if starting from scratch, you could use about 1/3 of the ingredients from that recipe - minus the chicken - and add in as appropriate)

Directions:

1) Heat oil over medium-high heat in large pot. (I like to use the same pot for everything so I only have to wash one)

2) Lay out chicken thighs as flat as you can and season one side with half of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, sea salt & Tony's. Lay seasoning side down in hot oil and sear 4-6 minutes. Season other side and flip. [I like to put the lid on while these are cooking so that oil doesn't splatter everywhere and the chicken actually cooks faster]

3) Remove chicken, cut into chunks and set aside. It's OK if the chicken isn't all of the way cooked through, you're going to cook the soup for a while and it should finish cooking. Feel free to lower heat and sear longer if you're uncomfortable with that.

4) Add in 1 tbsp of butter if there's not much oil left and saute onions & garlic until fragrant.

5) Lower heat and add in cream cheese and melt.

6) Pour in chicken broth and scrape bottom of pan with wooden spoon to deglaze. You want all those seasoning for your soup.

7) Add in potatoes, carrots and defrosted sauce remnants from Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms.

8) Add in chicken and turn heat back up to medium-high. Cover and let it get happy, stirring often. I usually let mine cook at a good heat (not quite a hard boil) for 30 minutes or so then lower for another 30.

9) Either melt in cheddar cheese in last 5 minutes or so, or top your bowl with it.

I hope y'all enjoy this as much as we do! Let me know if you tried it any different in the comments or via email!