Chicken and White Bean Stew

Given that we didn't go grocery shopping today, this is again a meal constructed with things I had left in the fridge/freezer/pantry.  I had a bit of spinach to use up and decided to use it in a stew.  This was a very comforting dish which was perfect for the cold day we're having here.

It took a while to cook but most of that was just letting the beans simmer.  That's fairly easy to manage since it just requires me walking to the kitchen to give it a stir every once in a while.  And the end result was definitely worth it.

This made about 3 servings of food.  We're both eating tonight and one of us will get a nice big bowl of leftovers (which means Jeremy will eat it).  (Or I might make one reasonable serving and one small serving... almost a side dish for lunch tomorrow...)

Jeremy even put up with the tomatoes in this dish.  He hadn't even swallowed the first bite when he said "yum."  We had our stew with a slice of homemade whole wheat bread.  Very tasty.

The chicken stayed nice and tender with this preparation.  It was tender enough to cut with a spoon!  The flour coating helped the liquid adhere to the chicken so it was nice and juicy and flavorful.  Definitely a very tasty stew. :)

Recipe:
Chicken:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (this was 2 large breasts for me)
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Stew:
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
1 tbs. minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 c. great northern beans, dry and uncooked
2 c. fresh spinach leaves, chopped finely
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the beans in a large bowl.  Cover with 4-6 c. water.  Soak for at least 6 hours or overnight.  Drain and rinse when ready to begin cooking and set aside until step 4.
2. When you're ready to start making dinner, place the flour, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper into a large ziploc bag.  Cut each chicken breast into thirds.  Butterfly the piece so the chicken is relatively flat.  Place the chicken in the flour bag and seal.  Shake to coat the chicken in the flour.
3. Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom.  Shake the excess flour off of the chicken and place in the oil.  Sear on both sides until golden brown (doesn't need to be cooked through).  Wrap the chicken in foil and set aside until step 6.
4. Reduce the heat to medium.  Place the onion in the pan and saute until slightly tender.  Add the garlic, diced tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves.  Cook until the liquid from the tomatoes is almost all gone.  Add the beans and chicken stock.  Mix to combine.  Place a lid on the pan.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. Add spinach and garlic powder to the stew.  Stir to combine.
6. When the spinach is all wilted, place chicken on the stew.  Continue simmering for 30 minutes until chicken is hot and cooked through and the beans are tender and creamy.  Give everything a stir to coat the chicken in the sauce.
7. Adjust salt and pepper to taste (I added a bit of both...).  Serve and enjoy.