Peel and small dice your onions (about 2 medium) and measure out 1½ cups.

Brush any debris from the mushrooms (quickly rinse them if they are very dirty, but do not soak). Slice them and measure out ½ cup. If the mushrooms are very large, you may want to cut them in half then slice cross-ways for smaller pieces, though they will cook down substantially.

Wash and peel your carrots (about 3 medium or 2 large). Cut them into small dice or bias cuts, and measure out 1½ cups.

Scrub the potatoes, peel and trim them, and then cut 1 cup of medium diced potato. Place these in a small container of water so that they do not oxidize and brown, and to wash off excess starch.

Wash your celery well to remove any grit, trim the ends, and cut ½ of small to medium diced celery pieces.

Measure out your herbs and seasonings (or have them handy), the white wine, lemon juice, and the ½ cup of frozen peas. Set the peas on the counter to thaw while you prep the stew.

Fill your pressure canner with several inches of water (check your manufacturer's recommendations) and preheat to about 180F.

Wash your canning jars, rings, and lids in hot soapy water. Place the jars into the canner to pre-heat, and set your rings and lids aside.

Do not boil your lids if you are using standard modern canning lids (follow manufacturer instructions for reusable lids like Tattler or Weck lids).

In a large heavy-bottomed non-reactive pot (stainless steel saucepan or enameled dutch oven is ideal), heat the butter or oil over medium heat.

Once the butter begins to melt and the pan is hot, add your diced onions and the salt.

Stir and sweat the onions for about a minute, then add the mushrooms, black pepper, bay leaf, and (optional) garlic powder.

Saute together for 2-3 minutes, until onions and mushrooms just begin to color. Stir regularly but do not break up the bay leaf (you will be removing this later)

Next, add the diced carrots, (drained) potato, and celery to the pot and stir again. Add the dried thyme (or other herbs... do not use sage, which turns bitter when pressure-canned).

Saute all together over medium heat, stirring frequently for 2 minutes.

Add the white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to dissolve any fond (browned bits on the pan that add flavor). If you are not using wine, skip to the next step.

Turn the heat up to medium high, and add the chicken stock.

Bring the stew mixture up to a low boil, stirring regularly, then reduce the heat back to medium.

Cook for about 10 minutes, or just until the vegetables are starting to be tender. Do not overcook, as they'll cook thoroughly in the canner.

Add the lemon juice, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary with more salt, pepper, or herbs. Remember that you can always add seasoning before you serve it, but you can't take it out!

Add the diced raw chicken and the peas, stir, and remove from the heat.

Using canning jar tongs or a jar rack, carefully remove the pre-heated jars from your pressure canner.

Place the jars on a kitchen towel or wire rack. Do not put hot jars directly on a cold countertop, or they may crack or shatter.

Using a canning funnel and ladle, fill the pint jars with the hearty chicken stew mixture. Remove the bay leaf (or leaves) before filling the jars (or fish it out when you find it).

Divide the stew mixture evenly among the jars. Leave a 1" headspace at the tops of the jars. De-bubble the jars, using a de-bubbling tool or chopstick, and top up if needed.

If you have extra filling, you can use smaller jars than pints but do not can quarts of this stew. You can also top up the jars with additional hot chicken stock or vegetable broth if you don't have quite enough filling.

Wipe the jar rims with a clean cloth or paper towel (dip the cloth in hot water or vinegar to cut any fat or residue for better seals).

Top the jars with canning lids and rings, and tighten the rings down fingertip tight (quite snug but not overly tight).

pressure-can chicken stew:

Carefully place the filled jars into the preheated canner.

Check that the canner vent isn’t clogged and close & seal the lid. Bring the canner up to pressure over medium heat with the vent open, and once the canner is venting a steady stream of steam, set a timer for 10 minutes.

When the canner has vented for 10 minutes, regulate the heat if necessary and drop the weight over the vent (or close the petcock if you have an older unweighted dial-gauge canner).

Can pint or smaller jars of hearty chicken stew for 1 hr 15 minutes at 11 PSI dial gauge/10 PSI weighted gauge up to 1000 ft (adjust to 15 at higher altitudes with a weighted canner). There are no listed/tested processing times for quarts of this recipe.

Start your processing timer only once the appropriate PSI has been reached, or when the weight is jiggling to indicate that the proper pressure has been reached. Watch or listen carefully, adjust heat as needed, and reset the timer to zero and restart processing time if you lose pressure below the correct processing pressure at any point.

After the processing time is complete, turn the heat off. Let the pressure canner has cool and slowly return to neutral pressure (the dial will drop to zero, and no steam escapes from the weight or petcock if jiggled). Wait another 5 minutes after the dial on your canner reads zero before opening. Follow your canner instructions for opening, being careful of any remaining steam (open away from your face).

Gently remove the jars from the canner using jar tongs or the jar rack.

Place the jars on a folded dish towel, cooling rack, or wooden surface. Protect hot jars from cold surfaces like granite, stainless, or concrete countertops until they have cooled.

Let the hot jars cool in a draft-free place where they can rest overnight or for up to 24 hours.