Squash — Chicken Stew — Do It Badly, Then Do It Better

February is almost here. Chloe's birthday is next week. The science party is planned: park pavilion (reserved, $20), baking soda volcanoes (supplies, $8), cake (homemade, $5), party favors (test tube candy from Dollar Tree, $10), and food (pizza from Little Caesars, $7). Total: $50. Exactly on budget. I am a woman who hits a budget like a target. Poverty taught me that. Dental hygiene pays me for it now.

Terrence gave me a key to his apartment this week. He handed it to me in the car, in the parking lot (of course — all major life moments happen in parking lots), and he said, "This isn't pressure. This is access." Access. Not a proposal. Not a move-in request. Access. The ability to be in his space when he's not there, to know that his door is open to me, to have a key that means: you are welcome here without announcement. I took the key. I put it on my keyring next to the apartment key and the Harmony Dental key and it sits there like a third address — home, work, Terrence.

I haven't given him a key to my apartment. Not yet. Chloe and Jayden live here. A key to my apartment is a key to their home, and that decision belongs to more people than just me. I told Terrence this. He said, "I know. Whenever you're ready." Whenever I'm ready. Not whenever he's ready. Whenever I'M ready. The distinction is the whole point. The distinction is why this works.

Kevin called with wedding details: April 13, Fort Campbell, chapel on base. Small ceremony. Crystal wants family only plus a few close friends. No barn, no peonies, no four-inch binder. Kevin said, "She wants simple." Of course she does. Crystal is the anti-Amber. Crystal's wedding will be efficient and beautiful and over by 3 PM, and Kevin will cry exactly once (during the vows) and then they'll eat cake and drive to their honeymoon in Gatlinburg like two people who decided to get married and then simply did it. I admire the efficiency. I also miss the peonies. Different weddings for different Mitchells.

I made a pot pie from scratch this week — chicken pot pie, full homemade crust (my first from-scratch pie crust — butter, flour, ice water, rolled out, blind-baked, and it was UGLY but it was MINE). The filling was classic: chicken, peas, carrots, cream sauce. The crust was lopsided. The edges were uneven. It looked like a pot pie that had been through a minor earthquake. But the taste — the taste was right. The taste was butter and warmth and the specific pride of a woman who has graduated from store-bought crust to homemade. The crust is the last thing I couldn't do. Now I can do it. Not perfectly. But I can do it. And next time it'll be better. And the time after that. And the time after that. That's the whole philosophy: do it badly, then do it better, then do it well. Earline would agree. Earline did everything badly first. She just never told anyone about the bad versions.

The pot pie was the milestone — lopsided crust and all — but the filling was always the part I’d already mastered: that thick, golden, chicken-and-vegetable warmth that tastes like the kind of woman I’ve been working to become. This Squash & Chicken Stew is that same filling, unencumbered, standing on its own — no crust required, no apology needed. I made it the same week I made the pot pie, and it reminded me that the philosophy works for stew too: start with good bones, build with patience, and it will always taste like something.

Squash & Chicken Stew

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp cold water (for slurry)
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

1. Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add to the pot in a single layer and cook 4–5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Remove chicken and set aside — it does not need to be fully cooked through at this stage.
2. Soften the aromatics. In the same pot, reduce heat to medium. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent. Add garlic and tomato paste and stir 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Build the stew base. Add diced tomatoes (with their liquid), chicken broth, thyme, rosemary, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
4. Add squash and chicken. Return browned chicken to the pot along with the cubed butternut squash. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 20–25 minutes, until squash is fork-tender and chicken is cooked through.
5. Thicken the broth. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir the slurry into the simmering stew and cook uncovered for 3–4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the broth thickens to a glossy, coat-the-spoon consistency.
6. Taste and finish. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread — or, if you’re feeling ambitious, a lopsided homemade biscuit.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 285 | Protein: 27g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 23g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 480mg