Spicy Peanut Chicken

This slowcooker dish is a personal favourite, and was a hit at our church luncheon yesterday. Whilst the name says "spicy" I was told it was quite delicious by those (older people) who don't like spicy dishes, and not really considered spicy. I personally think that if I was making it for hubby and me, or others who like spicy stuff, I would add 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste. From memory, we have added just a dash more to our plates before serving to spice it up for just us.

This is an adapted dish from my favourite slow cooker book: The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 onions

I love the colour in this dish, it's unusual to have such
bright colours coming from the slow cooker!

2 carrots

4 celery stalks

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon minced ginger root 

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 cup chicken stock

12 chicken thighs

Mix together separately:

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon of corn flour

2 cups green peas 

1 red capsicum

There's two ways to do this dish...

The not much time way:
Throw all the first lot of ingredients into the slow cooker on low for at least 5 hours. Then add the sauce, and put the slow cooker on high for at least 1/2 an hour. Just before you are ready to serve add the peas and capsicum. Serve with rice, and garnish with coriander. Yum!

The other way:

Step 1

Firstly, fry up the onions, carrots and celery in the oil. When soft, add the garlic, ginger, and peppercorns and stir for a minute. Then add the chicken stock (although it is just as flavourful if you add water). Line the bottom of your slow cooker with the chicken and cover with the softened veggie mix.

This can then be put in the fridge and left overnight. (Which is what we did)

Step 2

Turn slow cooker on high for 2 hours, then add the peanut sauce, and continue to cook on high for an hour. 

Step 3

Finally add the capsicum and peas, and serve after 10 minutes or so. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.

Slowcooker Pea and Ham Soup (with veggies)

Tank approved, and asked for bread
to mop it up

Important Ingredients
Ham hock - a big one is what we use (or two small)
500g split peas (I used a 7Litre pot, so use less split peas for a smaller pot!)
1/3 250g Phili Cream Cheese

Today's Optional Ingredients
Onion (really good for flavour)
Parsnip
Turnip
Sweet Potato
handful of lentils

Other Optional Ingredients
Carrots
Potato
Zucchini
Celery
Anything else I missed?

Method:

Clearly one of Christian's favourites,
he loves the meaty chucks of goodness!

Cut off the "skin" and excess fat on the ham hock
Veggies only need to fit in, they don't need to be chopped up
Cover with water

* Use slow (number 1) setting if you won't be back for 8 hours or so
* Use "fast" (number 2) setting if you plan to need the soup in three to four hours
* Cook on the stove top if you need it in 2 hours.

* When you are nearly ready to eat, carefully pull out the ham hock.

* Wizz up the soup and clump of cream cheese with a stab/bar mixer (I bought mine for $20 at Big W because my expensive ones keep breaking)

* Then cut up ham hock, removing excess fat and grizzle. Put these pieces back in the wizzed up soup.

Serve with yummy, buttered, mini loaves of bread that have spent 5 minutes in the oven.

Chicken and Cashew Masala...5 mins to prepare

For my brother, Buddy, and a good friend from Physie.

Slow cooking is great! Easy! Quick! and tasty!!

This is today's creation. According to The Man it is: "The best, most delicious lunch ever!" But then he is my enthusiastic, 6 year old boy.

Ingredients:

8 Chicken thighs, (I always check them over, cut off the easy to cut off bits of fat and feel for bone.)
1 or 2 Onions
4 or more Carrots
1 head of broccoli
2 or more zucchini
Pataks Cashew Masala simmer sauce (500g)
About a mug of lentils
About a mug and a half of water
Half a can of coconut milk

I have a Borner V Slicer. This is how I can prepare it so quickly. This brand is cost effective and long lasting. My last one lasted me 7 years, and I only had to buy a new one because the hand guard thing died. Oh and don't use it without a hand guard.

So, after checking over the chicken, put it in the bottom of the slow cooker (throw was the case this morning), then "julienne" all the vegies (dice might be an option if you don't have the slicer). Throw all the rest of the ingredients in. Stir so that the lentils are covered.

Set slow cooker on number 2 (fast) setting if you need it in 3 or 4 hours. Set it on number 1 (slow) setting if you are off for the day. Make sure the lid is on and then forget it.

If you open your slow cooker lid, it slows down the cooking time by half an hour as you have let the heat out. When you are ready to eat, give it a stir and the meat will start to fall apart. You can break it up with a spoon or serve as is.

Serve with a dollop of greek yoghurt if some is at hand. You could also serve with rice.

I did the preparation of this meal in 5 minutes because it is a Sunday, and we need to have our Sunday meal as soon as we get home. Sunday's are always an incredible rush for us...and today was no different, in fact Christian said we had to leave for church 10 minutes earlier. It is always so nice to come home to the smell of a hot meal, and knowing there is nothing to do but set the table. I also like to have left overs for Sunday evening or Monday lunch so that I reduce my overall preparation time in the kitchen.

I like to ensure that my family is getting their proper amount of vegies, thus the excessive amount of vegies. The lentils add bulk, instead of adding potato or rice. It's the lentils that needed the water. You could cook rice in the slow cooker in this dish, just remember if you add a cup of rice, you add two of water (plus a half a cup or so for dehydration).

If I had time...I would cut the chicken up and brown it, and I would brown the onions too. This needs to be done in a separate pan if you have a crock pot (I have a metal pot in mine - best buy yet!).