Peanut Chicken

The verdict is still out on this one, as it is simmering itself away in the crock right now, but it has great promise.

My mother-in-law makes a terrific peanut chicken dish (which, if memory serves me, I've referenced before) that is served over pasta and with broccoli that both my husband and I love, and which was the inspiration for this dish. I wanted something crock-friendly, as even the quickest dish can become troublesome when you are trying to get out the door, have a 2-month-old soaking everything in sight, or dinner time needs to be flexible, because our eating time depends on baby eating time.

In fact, said baby helped me prepare this dish.


So easy, even a baby can (help) do it.

Here is what you will need:

• 1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• about 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (so you don't get all the sugars and additives) - chunky or smooth. I had smooth in the house, so that is what went into the pot.
• 1/4 c. chicken broth
• about 5 Tbs soy sauce (I used a mix of low sodium and regular)
• 1.5 tsp onion powder (or one medium diced onion... I wasn't going to dice with a baby in my arms)
• 1.5 tsp chopped garlic
• .5 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1 TBS cumin
  
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
  
• 4 TBS peanuts, chopped (measured before chopping) - or use chunky peanut butter
  
• broccoli florets, steamed (the steam-in-a-bag or leftover broccoli is fine)
• pasta or rice of your choosing (optional)
  

Mix all but the last 4 ingredients together and set it to cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Mix in broccoli and garnish with chopped peanuts and sesame seeds.

We are going to enjoy this over fettuccine or linguine.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Chicken Curry

At one point in time, I attempted a curry dish.

It was terrifying and bland.

I decided curry was best left as one of those dishes you get when you eat out because it isn't something you are going to replicate in your kitchen, and didn't try to cook it again.

Until now.

Our local grocery store had a sale on boneless, skinless chicken breasts; buy one get two free. We had grilled chicken, kabobed chicken, and southwest chicken soup. After so much chicken, I decided we needed to mix it up a bit and keep it healthy (which is why we grill so much... it is quick, easy, and healthy). I got it in my head to make curry.

I won't tell you what my friend, Kachelle, calls yellow chicken curry, but I will tell you that it not only made me wary of making and serving it, but I giggled the entire time I was mixing this up. In the end, after some seasoning tweaking, it came out delicious. In the future, I would add some slightly steamed cauliflower to make it even better.

You will need:

1 can lite coconut milk (you can use the heavy stuff, but that takes out the health piece. It also makes it fantastically creamy)
1 can ceci (garbanzo) beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 T chopped garlic (or 3 crushed fresh cloves, or 1 tsp garlic powder...)
1 T low sodium soy sauce
2 T curry powder (yellow, and do not reduce this! Curry is not hot, it is seasoning.)
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into large chunks (which can be nicely put into naan)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small - medium of each, diced: red, yellow and green pepper

Mix all but the last 3 listed ingredients in the crock until the spices are well-dispersed. Add the chicken and set to cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Add the sweet potato, trying to immerse all the pieces, with 90 minutes left in cooking time. You can also boil the sweet potato pieces until tender (but still al dente) and mix them in during the last 30 minutes. This is how I would treat the cauliflower florets as well.

15-20 minutes before serving, add in peppers. They should cook slightly, and still impart a nice crunch.

You can eat this as is, or serve with naan or over rice.

Enjoy!