8.30.2011

Recipe: Slow Cooker Curried Chicken That Will Rock Your Face Off

Subtitle: Unless You Are My Dad Who Refuses To Eat Things Like This

(Love you!)

One of my least favorite things about being engaged was registering for gifts. So much pressure! So many options! Such a weird but kind of awesome social norm!

The Robertson registry was one very thought-through list and the subject of many pre-wedding conversations which usually ended with us up to our eyeballs in imagined kitchen gadgetry that we would never use. (scream of horror!)

ALL THAT TO SAY, we have a slow cooker. It majorly failed us the first time we tried to use it so I have been busy pouting and resting my bruised ego. Plus it was REALLY CRAZY hot this summer (I know. Weird! Oh wait, totally normal...but we MidWesterners like to discuss the weather. A LOT.).

Fast forward to last weekend.

I stumbled across a recipe I had saved and decided to give it a whirl. I so badly want to redeem my first slow cooker experience and SO SO badly want us to become bffs so that I will have delicious things ready for my consumption shortly after walking in the door. I want to be that neighbor who always has good smells wafting out the window, curling down the stairs and snuggling up against those people below us who can grow amazing gardens and secretly judge us for our lack of produce this year. (And last.) ((And for forgetting our recycle bin on the curb. Often.)) I want the slow cooker smell to envelop them and say, "Well, they sure don't make use of their balcony but MY OH MY can they cook DINNER!"

...Is that too much to ask?

Imagine my delight when we threw a few ingredients in the slow cooker and after hours of increasingly tantalizing smells, we both took a forkful and our eyes popped open with, "This is SOOOOO good!"

(Well, that was Adam's reaction. Mine was much more controlled and just smartly appreciative. No emotional nonsense here!)

--What's that? You don't need the play by play and just want the recipe already?

Okay fine. But only if you tell me what I can make next in that thing! No holding out on me!

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken With Ginger
From: Real Simple


Serves 6| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 8hr 15m

Ingredients

Note to our dietician friend Steph--we used brown rice instead of white. Aren't you proud?!

Note to everyone EXCEPT our dietician friend Steph--we added a teeensy bit more salt and more cumin before serving. And we did not add scallions. And it was still good.

Directions

  1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, whisk together the tomato paste, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cumin, and ¾ cup water. Add the onion and stir to combine. Place the chicken on top and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
  2. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
  3. Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the package directions.
  4. Just before serving, add the yogurt and ½ teaspoon salt to the chicken and stir to combine. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with the scallions.




...Okay, now I am serious, what else can I make in this wonder of an appliance?

p.s. Sorry I keep posting so many recipes and so little...anything else. I would like to play the Still Transitioning to Fall card now. Please and thank you.

6 comments:

John Slattery said...

Hey Sara! Kristen and I plan to try the chicken soon...we've become a big fan of our crockpot over the past few months. Its especially helpful with two crazy kids to take care of.

Our favorite crockpot recipe so far is this one. Its a basic tomato sauce and meatball recipe...perfect for serving over pasta, and makes a great amount for leftovers. The only difference we do is that we put the meatballs in at the very beginning instead of waiting 3 hours like the recipe calls for. This way they soak up all the awesomeness of the sauce.

Thanks for the recipe...let us know if you try the meatballs!

Austin & Terri said...

Sooo I MUST try that! Here's my favorite slow-cooker recipe:

Savory Pot Roast
-1 can (10.75 oz) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
-1 pouch of Dry Onion Soup and Recipe Mix
-6 medium potatoes (I use red and don't feel them) cut into 1 inch cubes
-6 medium carrots thickly sliced (about 3 cups...I use the baby carrots we usually already have in our fridge)
-1 (3.5-4#) boneless chuck pot roast, trimmed.

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker, mix it up, and cook on low for 8-9 hours. It is SOOOO good. And super easy! I usually put this all together the night before and stick it in the fridge. Then the next morning before heading to work I put it in the slow cooker and leave. When I come home the house smells fantastic!!! So good!

Austin & Terri said...

...about the potatoes...I meant PEEL, not feel. I don't PEEL them. Weird!

Sara said...

WOW! Thank you so much friends! I am excited to try both of these! Thanks again!

Kelley said...

Here is another one for you. This is our favorite thing to make in the crock pot. Wade request it about once a month if not more and the best thing is it freezes really well so you can make a lot and then freeze smaller bags of it for the nights you need dinner quick.
http://daily-sips.blogspot.com/2010/11/crock-pot-pork-tacos.html
excited to try out this curried chicken :)

Sara said...

Thanks Kelley! Adam will love this! :)