Slow Cooker Chicken-Barley Stew

This past weekend, Luke and I went to Barnum, Minnesota to visit with friends for a long weekend. We had a great time and luckily didn't freeze. Barnum is about 25 minutes away from Duluth, Minnesota, so it's a ways up there. I knew that it would be cold up there so I thought a hearty stew would be good for us to eat (The temperature was -17 degrees F when we arrived at our destination on Thursday night). This recipe was featured in one of the recipe newsletters I get emailed to me every week. This is a super easy dish, especially since you just let sit in the crock-pot all day. We had a hard time finding barely at the store, but we eventually found and it is great substitute for rice. This stew will definitely fill you up and keep you nice and warm. I added some additional seasonings to spice things up and bring out the flavor of the vegetables. I hope everyone is keeping warm this January. Waterloo received over 7 inches of snow on January 20th. Luke and I had some shoveling to do when we got home on Monday. Now we're back in the swing of things and have no travel plans until mid-February. We're looking forward to spending some time at home. ENJOY!!

CHICKEN-BARLEY STEW

3 large carrots, sliced (2 cups)
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 bone-in chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pound), skin removed
3 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup uncooked medium pearled barley
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Directions
1. In 4 to 5 quart slow cooker, place carrots, celery and onion. Place chicken breasts on vegetables. Add remaining ingredients, except parsley and thyme.
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 9 hours.
3. Remove chicken from cooker; place on cutting board. Remove meat from bones and chop into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces; discard bones.
4. Stir chicken, parsley and thyme into stew. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 10 to 15 minutes longer or until chicken is thoroughly heated.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 25); Total Fat 2 1/2g (Saturated Fat 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 40mg; Sodium 470mg; Total Carbohydrate 30g (Dietary Fiber 6g, Sugars 6g); Protein 19g. Daily Values: Vitamin A 140%; Vitamin C 10%; Calcium 8%; Iron 15%. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Very Lean Meat. Carbohydrate Choices: 2.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet