Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala

I love crockpot cooking.  Prep it, set it, and when you come home it's ready for go-time and makes your house smell like you cooked all day.  I also love Indian food, so this crockpot Indian chicken tikka masala recipe, adapted from Cooking Classy, was something I looked forward to making all week.

This recipe calls for canned tomato sauce.  I'm not a huge fan of canned foods, mainly because most of them have BPA (bisphenol-A) in the lining that can seep into food.  BPA is a known endocrine disruptor that is "linked to male infertility, diabetes, heart disease, aggressive behavior in children," etc. according to Rodale News, so I try to avoid it if possible.  However, sometimes it's inconvenient to make your own tomato sauce or tomato paste, so choosing BPA-free cans is a better option.  

Two brands that I regularly buy because they make BPA-free cans are Muir Glen and Eden Organics.  You can find them at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and potentially stores.

This recipe contains a decent amount of cream.  I bought organic pasture cream, which is made from milk from grass-fed cows, but that doesn't take away the heaviness of it.  You can use less cream than indicated or try adding more yogurt at the end, which is what I did.  However, since my husband isn't a huge yogurt fan, he didn't like the tanginess it added.  If I made this again, I would just use a little less cream than indicated (1/2-3/4 cup).

Ingredients:
5 boneless, skinless organic chicken breast halves or chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 3 lbs)
1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp freshly, finely grated ginger
1 jalapeno, stemmed, sliced in  half and seeds removed - I omitted but used extra cayenne
1 (29 oz) can tomato puree (BPA-free brand)
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt 
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp salt, or to taste
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-3 tsp cayenne pepper - tailor to your spicy preference
2 bay leaves
1 cup organic heavy cream
1/2 tbsp organic cornstarch
Prepared long grain brown rice or Basmati rice
Chopped cilantro, for serving

1 bag of organic frozen peas, optional

Directions:

Assemble ingredients:

In a large mixing bowl combine chopped onions, minced garlic, grated ginger, sliced jalapeno, tomato puree, plain yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, Garam Masala, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, pepper and cayenne pepper.  Stir until combine.  

 

Pour half of sauce mixture into a large slow cooker then add in diced chicken followed then cover chicken with remaining sauce.  Add in 2 bay leaves.  Cover slow cooker with lid and cook on low heat for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours).  

I added a bag of organic frozen peas about an hour before serving so they would heat through.  Bonus veggies - and color.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together heavy cream and cornstarch, pour mixture into slow cooker and gently stir.  Allow mixture to cook 20 minutes while you prepare the rice. 

 

Remove bay leaves and sliced jalapeno and serve warm over rice and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

 

I forgot to get cilantro so sprinkled with peanuts for some visual interest.

 

This dish is saucy and creamy, so it's best to serve with a crunchy, fresh salad.

YUM!  This was even better the next day when reheated over the stove.

Enjoy!

*M*
 

 

(Healthy) Crockpot Indian Butter Chicken

A even busier schedule calls for some creativity and serious crock-potting in the kitchen. This recipe, found on "A Year of Slow Cooking", was super simple to make and definitely delicious. Make sure to use organic pasture butter whenever you can. It's high in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA's), making it healthier than butter from cows who eat grain.


This recipe is also great prepped ahead of time, refrigerated overnight, and placed on the crockpot the next morning. I hope you enjoy as much as we did! By the way, if you're cooking for men-folk...this one gets double thumb's up! Our good friend Dave is living with us for a few months as he starts his new career as a pharmacist (he just moved out here from LA). I made this for both him and my husband, and they were both fans.

Don't be afraid of these spices if you've never cooked Indian food before. They're great investments for your pantry and can be used in tons of recipes, plus they smell great and have some wonderful health benefits. Garam masala, a combination of cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and black pepper packs an anti-inflammatory punch, and both curry and ginger may have cancer-preventive properties. I used ground cardamom to taste instead of cardamom pods, and I easily found garam masala at Whole Foods. They were about $5 or $6 each.

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs - go organic!
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 T butter (organic pasture butter from Whole Foods)
15 cardamom pods (sewn together!)
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can coconut milk (I used light)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt - I used organic plain nonfat Greek

Instructions: Assemble ingredients:

Use a 5 quart or larger crockpot. Carefully sew together the cardamom pods using a needle and thread (if using). You can put them in a little cheese cloth bundle, instead, if you have that in the house.

Put chicken in crockpot, and add onion, garlic, and all of the dry spices.

Plop in the butter and tomato paste.



Add lemon juice and coconut milk. (If you're prepping this the night before, add the lemon juice and coconut just before you put it on the crockpot.) Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked. Stir in plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving. Discard cardamom pods.


Salt to taste, serve with brown basmati rice, veggies of your liking, and even some lentils cooked with onion and garlic. You can use the extra sauce as a topping for the vegetables.


Enjoy!

*M*

What's Your Nutrition Transition?

The real purpose of this blog is to inspire others to make a change, however small, in their nutrition and health habits. That's why it's so freaking rewarding to receive photos of dishes that friends-slash-readers have made as a result of reading the blog, or of nutrition-inspired photos people have taken while traveling the globe. Keep the photos a-comin'! It keeps this (sometimes tired) girl chug-chug-chugging along...

Here's a dinner made from vegetables and 100% grass-fed beef from the North Scottsdale Farmers Market:




A shot of a reader and her husband's Cabbage and Apple Slaw:






Same couple's Crockpot Chicken Curry:






(The reader's hubby joked that it looks kind of questionable in the photo but awesome - and tasty - in person! It's hard to do food photography with an iPhone.)


Also, check out this post to see another reader's Mediterranean Quinoa.


One of my favorite readers went to visit her boyfriend's family in Texas and took pictures of their beautiful vegetable garden:

Who is that hiding in the plants?

These guys are awesome:

If you make something from the blog and want to share it, send me a pic!

*M*

Crockpot Chicken Curry - So Easy!

I have always been a bit intimidated about cooking Indian food. I love eating it, but I always thought it would be so hard to make. I'm no expert on Indian cuisine, but this recipe is pretty darn good, and it's so simple.

The recipe calls for coconut milk. I used light coconut milk, which is basically watered down coconut milk (no fake ingredients). Feel free to use regular coconut milk; I just find that it's a bit too heavy for my preference. I did add a tablespoon of raw coconut oil back into the recipe to get just a bit more fat and coconut flavor without using the whole can of coconut milk. Remember to use as many organic vegetables as possible, and of course, go for organic chicken! You don't want to add hormones and antibiotics to such a delicious dish, do you?

This recipe is from Rachael Ray's website. Check it out here.

Indian Style Crockpot Curry

Serves 4

• 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Few dashes hot sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 1-inch knob ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 large eggplant, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 14-ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken thighs (about 6 thighs)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• White rice
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to garnish
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced, to garnish
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, to garnish
• 1 cup chopped toasted peanuts, to garnish
• 1/4 cup mango chutney, to garnish
• 
  

Preparation:

In the bowl of a crock pot combine coconut milk, tomato paste, curry powder, coriander, cumin, and hot sauce. To that, add onion, garlic, ginger, bell pepper, eggplant, sweet potato, chickpeas, and chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the crock pot on high heat and simmer for 4 hours or until the chicken is cooked through.

Megan's version: since I like to prep the night before, I refrigerate the prepared ingredients to put on the crock pot in the morning. I omitted the coconut milk until the morning so that the vegetables wouldn't soak it up. Here are some shots of how I prepared it.

All the vegetables together:

Seasoning (minus coconut milk) added:

Chicken added:

When finished, serve atop rice and garnish with lemon wedges, scallions, cilantro, peanuts, and mango chutney. I omitted the lemon and mango chutney, but go for it if that's you're thing! It was absolutely delicious.