Thursday: Crockpot Curried Chicken

I am apparently fixated on curry dishes this week. I renovated an old recipe (yes, I added a bathroom!) but there are still a couple of tweaks I will recommend. This is one of my Thursday-I-Have-Class Meals, enjoy!

You will need:

1 lb chicken thighs (I use boneless skinless because life is just too short)

1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp curry powder

½ tsp chili powder

Salt, pepper

375 g potatoes (3 large-ish or bunch of little ones)

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic

1 c frozen green beans

First, trim all the fat off your thighs (I WISH) and cut into 3 pieces length-wise.

Like zo

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the chicken and season with curry, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes. Browning is not necessary, but flip them once.

Browning-ish

Remove the chicken to the crockpot, pour about a quarter cup of the stock into the saucepan and scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom.

Edged wooden spoon!

Let the stock reduce a bit while you place the onions, garlic and potatoes on top of the chicken in the crockpot. Pour the reduced stock and the reserved stock over top of everything.

Cook on the lowest setting for 5-6 hours, give it a good stir before serving to incorporate the potato starch as a thickener.

Add in the frozen green beans, heat for 15 minutes more on high.

I made 6 servings at 386 calories per, which means that it is knocking up against the 400 - 500 calories limit per meal. Add some couscous or rice and a salad, done!

Crockpot Beef

I would call this crockpot roast beef, but that would be misleading, as there is no roasting involved. Just simmering. In wine. Yay! Even though I am home today, I have to cook this roast I took out a couple three days ago. I was planning to do a vegetarian dish later, but this will satisfy even the meatiest of meatatarians.

You will need:

2.5 - 3 lbs cheap roast. I am using a good cut that was on sale
1/2 c all purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 large Spanish (aka red, purple) onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
1 1/2 c baby-cut carrots, cut in half, or 2 large carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 c white wine
1 Tbsp tomato paste

To lightly smash garlic, use your biggest knife, lay the garlic underneath it and whack it gently with the heel of your hand

Spread the flour on a dinner plate, salt and pepper your roast and dredge in the flour.

Um, fairly self-explanatory

I also like to use pie pans for dipping and breading, but since not much action is required, a dinner plate is poifect.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan (like old faithful here) at medium high, brown each side (including the top and bottom), about 5 minutes per side. NOTE: when browning, always wait until the meat comes easily off the pan before turning. If it is sticking, it's not done browning yet. Leave it!

Patience, grasshopper

Place the browned roast in the crockpot, dump the onions in the heated pan and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and saute for one more minute. Just one!

The onions and garlic into the slowcooker on top of the meat, pour the wine into the hot pan. Boil for 2 minutes, until it doesn't smell quite so wine-y, scraping up all the good bits on the bottom of the pan.

I love flat spoons for this

Put the carrots in the crockpot and pour the wine from the pan on top of everything.

Ready!

Cook for 6-8 hours on the lowest setting. Stir in the tomato paste and let cook for another 10 minutes.