Chicken Stew

This recipe is from the lovely cooking/food blog of Snow White's.....with a couple of modifications, of course. I decided to use the crockpot instead of her stovetop directions and ended up changing a few things around...but it's mainly her recipe. Even though I'm primarily a "chicken" person, I love beef stew, so I wasn't sure how I would like a chicken stew in comparison. It turned out really delicious...and while I won't make this exclusively, you know it's a winner when all the kids eat it without complaints and everyone earns dessert! And it makes great leftovers, too. You could easily add other veggies as desired, such as mushrooms, green beans, peas, or whatever you like.

Recipe:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine were frozen)
1 onion, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped
3-4 potatoes, chopped
1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth (or water with bouillon equivalent)
1 T. Italian seasoning
2 t. salt
2 T. sugar
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1-2 zucchini (depending on size), chopped

Put all ingredients except zucchini in a large crockpot, stir around a bit, and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6. I know all crockpots are different, mine just has hour settings; 4 and 6 hours being "High" and 8 and 10 hours being "Low". About half way through your cooking time, add in the zucchini. Before serving, remove chicken breasts and shred or dice as desired (I shredded) and return to stew.
Serve with Parmesan cheese. Delish!

I thought the zucchini would have been a little better if it wasn't as mushy.....however, Marissa (3.5) gobbled it up even to her surprise, since she never likes zucchini. She openly stated that she likes it better all soft. If you don't prefer it very soft, decrease the cooking time of the zucchini.