Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big fan of make-your-own-takeout. Not only is it economical, but I also think that many Asian dishes are pretty easy to make, and I often have most of the spices and necessary ingredients in my cupboard. From curry powder to garam masala to ginger, most have similar flavor profiles which make the dishes easy to make and in my opinion, not too difficult to mess up.

One thing that I hadn't attempted before in making my own Asian carryout was to use a slow cooker. Two weekends ago I found I had a craving, a slow-cooker, and a cooking partner in crime. The result was this lighter version of a butter chicken that makes enough to feed a small army.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (14-oz.) can light coconut milk
• 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
• 2 TB whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tsp. curry powder 
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (I like my dishes a little hot, so I think this helped with the flavor)
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder, or more, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 TB chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, tomato paste, flour, garam masala, curry powder, chili powder and ginger powder until well combined and slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place chicken into a slow cooker. Add sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours.

Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired. We made with brown rice for a healthy lunch that also froze pretty well.

Crockpot Ropa Vieja

I know a few people who follow a Paleo diet. I've been told of its merits and one thing I think it definitely does right is pushes people to eat more protein and vegetables. I think there are a number of great Paleo recipes out there, and some awesome blogs for those who are interested. One that a coworker of mine had suggested I look at recipes on is http://paleomg.com/. She encouraged me to try this crockpot recipe for ropa vieja and swore I wouldn't be disappointed.

Alas, I was disappointed. BUT, NOT BECAUSE OF THE RECIPE. The flavors in this recipe are awesome. I unfortunately got the one piece of meat at my Giant that remained a bit too tough, even after 10 hours of crockpot cooking. I'm sure with a better cut of meat, this would have turned out perfectly. It was not really easily shredded like the traditional dish, so I had to settle for meat chunks. But the flavors were great and highly recommend you trying this. I elected to make black beans and rice for a side.

Her original post is here: http://paleomg.com/crockpot-ropa-vieja-cuban-style-rice/

Crockpot Ropa Vieja (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2lbs chuck roast
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 3 TB capers, drained
• 1 TB cumin
• 1 TB dried thyme
• 1 TB dried oregano
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Chop onions and peppers and place in a crockpot. Place your chuck roast on top and cut 4 deep slices into the chuck roast and push your garlic cloves into the roast. Add the cumin, thyme and oregano to the pot, as well as the salt and pepper. Then add your tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, capers, and bay leaf to the rest of the crockpot.

Place on low for 6-8 hours or high for 5-7 hours.When your ropa vieja is almost done, it’s time to cook your rice.

Once your ropa vieja is done cooking, use a  fork to shred your beef in the crockpot. Serve ropa vieja on top of  rice.

I'll admit, this was even more flavorful the next day and makes great leftovers.