Johnny Longbow Stew Recipe

This Johnny Longbow stew recipe has (you guessed it) chicken, corn, green peppers, chili, *sigh* onion… it’s an old recipe around here, a perfect MSTie dinner!  This classic cheesie movie-inspired recipe comes to life. It’s great to enjoy on it’s own, or serve it over rice or pasta.

OK I’m stepping away from being a ~serious food blogger~ for a moment, because I am also a serious MSTie. My husband and I watched one of our favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes the other night, Track of the Moon Beast, and I had to recreate the stew that one of the characters, Johnny Longbow, makes in the film. You can see the original clip of the movie that inspired this stew.

Note: This isn’t the actual recipe from the movie, and certainly isn’t a traditional Navajo stew- it’s my attempt at the recipe based on Johnny’s ingredients.  But, hey, it turned out pretty good and we plan on making this often!  This recipe is just for fun, you should really just relax 🙂

This Johnny Longbow Stew Recipe Is:

• Hearty
• Satisfying
• Spicy
• Loaded with Vegetables
• Flavorful
• “Pretty good”
• Great to make with seasonal summer ingredients, or frozen vegetables
• Dairy free and gluten free

Is Track of the Moon Beast a Good Movie?

If you’re talking about the movie by itself: no, no it’s not a good movie. If you’re talking about the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode: it’s one of our favorites!  During the pandemic last year, my husband and I watched every MST3k episode in order and rated them based on 7 different criteria. We gave Track of the Moon Beast a 9/10, which was definitely up there overall!  So what’s our favorite MST?  With a half-American/half-Canadian household, you better believe The Final Sacrifice gets top billing.

What’s In Johnny Longbow’s Stew?

Including the ingredients in the movie, here is the full list of ingredients I added in:

• Chicken: I made my stew with a whole cooked chicken, meat cut off the bone. You can also use 4 medium cooked chicken breasts and shred them before adding to the stew.
• Olive Oil
• Onion
• Corn: it’s August and corn is definitely in season so I used some leftover fresh corn we cooked on the BBQ the other day.  This recipe would also be great with frozen corn too if you are making this in the spring or winter.
• Green Peppers: our green peppers and jalapenos aren’t quite ready yet from the garden, so I used frozen peppers. You can find frozen peppers or pepper/onion blends in the frozen section now… and they’re usually less expensive than fresh.
• Chilis: I used dried chilis and chili powder for this (again, jalapenos not quite ready from the garden)
• Zucchini: or any summer squash
• Diced Tomatoes:  I only use no salt added diced tomatoes, these boxed tomatoes are really great to stock up on!  I like boxed tomatoes better because they are BPA free and more eco-friendly than aluminum cans (yeah, hippie over here). But I’d recommend cooking with any low or no salt tomatoes, as the canned tomato juice also goes into this recipe and you don’t want it too salty.
• Chili Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Adobo Seasoning: a really fantastic blend of salt, pepper, garlic, and spice! I like to get one that doesn’t have a lot of salt it in, so I can control the amount of salt going into the dish.
• Salt and pepper to taste – depending on how salty your tomatoes or adobo seasoning is, you may want to add more salt. If your recipe feels like it’s “missing something” then it’s probably salt.
• Toppings: fresh chopped cilantro, green onions, fresh jalapenos, sliced avocado, cheese or a dollop of sour cream (skip the cheese + sour cream if you eat dairy-free).

 Frozen Vegetable Stew Recipes For the Win

You can absolutely use frozen vegetables for this recipe instead of  fresh produce. Frozen produce is a great option for finding fresh and flavorful vegetables in the off season. By using freezer ingredients, I can stock up when they are on sale, and use them in all kinds of great dishes. It saves me a trip to the store, and I can add amazing veggies right into the recipe. Frozen vegetables are often picked at peak ripeness, so they are a much better option than canned.  Check out all my recipes that use Freezer Ingredients on The Herbeevore – great for those nights when you want dinner ready fast! You can use frozen corn, green pepper, zucchini, and onions for this recipe… no need to get fresh.

How Do I Make MST3K Johnny Longbow Stew?

1. Pull meat off the rotisserie chicken, or shred cooked chicken breasts with a fork. Set meat aside in a bowl.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, add the the olive oil and onions and saute for 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add the zucchini, green pepper, corn, chili, diced  tomatoes with the juice, chili powder, garlic powder, and adobo spice. Bring pot to a boil, then reduce down to a simmer and add the cooked chicken to the pot. Cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until zucchini and peppers are cooked all the way through.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed… The stew may need salt, depending on how salty your adobo spice is.
5. Serve in a bowl, we served ours over rice, and top with cilantro, more chilis, or sour cream (skip the sour cream if you eat dairy-free).  Enjoy!

Other Chicken Recipes You Also May Enjoy!

Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken Curry Recipe (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Chicken and Dumplings Soup Recipe (Dairy Free, GF Option)

Clay Pot Chicken and Vegetables Recipe (Paleo, Whole30, Gluten Free)

Indian Chicken Dopiaza Recipe (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

Where can I watch other Mystery Science Theater Episodes?

• MT3K has a Twitch channel that streams 24/7 here!
• Also, Shout Factory has almost all of the MST episodes on DVD – they come with really great features/interviews, which is how we watch most of our MST at home.
• Seasons 11 and 12 of MST3K are on Netflix
• The new cast of MST3k season 13 is going on a live tour this fall (2021/2022)!  We caught them on the Cheesy Movie Circus tour in 2019 and absolutely loved it.

• Rifftrax has weekly new riffs from Mike, Kevin, and Bill… and also Bridget and Mary Jo (some of my favorites)!  Watching new riffs on Fridays is a weekly thing for us, we always look forward to the latest movies and especially Rifftrax Live shows! We flew out to Minneapolis a few years ago for the MST3K reunion show and it was a blast to see in-person.
• The Mads Are Back – Frank and Trace have monthly movie-riffing livestreams on their Youtube Channel, and we haven’t missed one yet!

Johnny Longbow Stew Recipe

The Herbeevore

This Johnny Longbow stew recipe has (you guessed it) chicken, corn, green peppers, chili, *sigh*onion... it's an old recipe around here, a perfect MSTie dinner!  This classic recipe comes to life, and is gluten free and dairy free.

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Share Tweet

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 277 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 4 to 5 lb rotisserie chicken meat cut off the bone, or 4 medium cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 sweet onion sliced
• 2 cups sweet corn
• 2 bell pepper de-seeded and sliced
• 1 large dried chili or two fresh sliced jalapenos
• 1 zucchini sliced
• 1 28 ounce No-Salt-Added Diced Tomatoes with the juice
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Toppings fresh chopped cilantro, green onions, fresh jalapenos, sliced avocado, cheese or a dollop of sour cream (skip the cheese + sour cream if you eat dairy-free).

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Pull meat off the rotisserie chicken, or shred cooked chicken breasts with a fork. Set meat aside in a bowl.
• In a large pot or dutch oven, add the the olive oil and onions and saute for 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat.
• Add the zucchini, green pepper, corn, chili, diced  tomatoes with the juice, chili powder, garlic powder, and adobo spice. Bring pot to a boil, then reduce down to a simmer and add the cooked chicken to the pot. Cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until zucchini and peppers are cooked all the way through.
• Taste and adjust seasoning as needed... The stew may need salt, depending on how salty your adobo spice is.
• Serve in a bowl (we served ours over rice) and top with cilantro, more chilis, or sour cream.  Enjoy!

Notes

Note: This isn't the actual recipe from the movie, and certainly isn't a traditional Navajo stew- it's my attempt at the recipe based on Johnny's ingredients.  But, hey, it turned out pretty good and we plan on making this often!  This is just for fun, you should really just relax 🙂

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 244mgPotassium: 419mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 613IUVitamin C: 42mgCalcium: 48mgIron: 2mg

Keyword chicken corn green peppers chili onions, johnny longbow stew, johnny longbow stew recipe, mst3k johnny longbow, track of the moon beast stew

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