Ah-MAZING Fish Stew!

It's been pretty warm here over the past week, which some may say is NOT soup weather.  But, when you are coming off the tail end of bronchitis, it is ALWAYS soup weather!

As I sat in my cube yesterday pondering over dinner options, I decided to take my indecision over to allrecipes.com to see if I could find some inspiration.  I had taken shrimp out of the freezer the night before; however, it was left to thaw in the fridge when my fiance didn't make it home from work until nearly 8:30 p.m.  So, I knew I was making shrimp.  But with what?  Nothing was sounding particularly appetizing. 

The nice thing about allrecipes.com is that you can type in the ingredients that you have on hand, and it will match you with some recipes that fit your list.  I typed in: shrimp, carrots, celery and chicken.  Ta-dah!  I was matched with a fish stew that sounded delish!  Now, unfortunately for me, I did not have some of the ingredients in my fridge or pantry, but fortunately for me, I'm inventive and can usually manage to eek out something palatable.  This, my friends, was a HIT modified and all!  This soup is amazing right off the stove, or as reheated leftovers!  I can't get enough!  And the best part?  It's relatively clean and low calorie (the nutrition information provided is for six hearty servings.  It probably makes a more realistic eight servings, lowering the number of calories per bowl).

I hope you'll try this recipe and let me know what you think!  Enjoy!

Ah-MAZING Fish Stew
1/4 c. olive oil
4 stalks of celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 - 1/2 c. water
1 c. white wine
1/4 c. creme sherry
4 red potatoes, diced
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into small pieces
Salt & pepper to taste
1 T. Old Bay Seasoning + more to taste
1/2 T. basil
Dash of paprika
1 lb. medium cooked shrimp, peeled and tail removed
1/2 lb. of white fish (haddock) cut into chunks

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Mix in the celery, onion, carrots and garlic.  Cook until onion is tender.  Stir in the tomatoes, crushed tomato water, wine and sherry.  Add chicken and potatoes.  Season with salt, pepper, Old Bay, basil and paprika.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer one hour.

Mix shrimp and fish into the stew.  Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until fish is easily flaked.  Remove from heat and allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

Calories (6 hearty servings): 452
Fat: 11.8 g
Cholesterol: 208.7 mg
Carbs: 36.5 g (dietary fiber: 6.2 g/sugar: 7.8 g)
Protein: 41.2 g
Nutrition information provided by recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp