November 22, 2024

Spiced Chicken&Butternut in the Slow Cooker

September 22, 2014 by

Show of hands…who is thankful for their CrockPot (or slow cooker)?  Meeee…I am, too! And do you find that you use it more in the cold weather months than in the summertime? I do…not quite sure why.  Around the start of autumn, my slow cooker finds it’s way onto the countertop…and usually stays there for quite awhile. Ready to be used for something yummy, whether it’s a batch of apple (or pear!!!) sauce, or some variation of chili, or soup (of course!).  Hey!  What is the best thing that comes out of your slow cooker?  (Leave your answer below in the comments, please!)  Here are a few links that will give you hints and tips as to how to use the slow cooker to your best advantage.

7 Tricks for Better Slow Cooking in your Crockpot

Back to Basics: How to Use a Slow Cooker

Stockpiling Moms: CrockPot Hints and Tips

And here are a few of mine, too….

  • I find that mushrooms get quite mushy if cooked very long in the slow cooker. So I saute them early on and keep in the refrigerator ‘til 30-45 minutes until your food is finished cooking. Toss them in and give everything a good stir.
  • Today’s slow cookers are much more efficient than earlier models. No longer do I put together a meal in my slow cooker early on and let it cook all day long. Now, usually 4-5 hours before suppertime, I will layer everything in and let it start cooking.  Most often I set it on high for 1 hour and then 3-4 hours on low.
  • Keep the lid on!  I’ve read that every time you take the lid off, you add 15 minutes of cooking time!
  • Aspire to attain a programmable slow cooker.  (I’m still working on this!)

This recipe makes enough for 6 generous servings.  And with the yummy, thick ‘sauce’ made by pureeing the veggies there is no need to thicken with flour or sour cream!  This fits in perfectly with our healthy but oh-so-yummy POV!  Enjoy!

Spiced Chicken and Butternut Squash

2014-09-17 20.22.31

ingredients:

2# boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into large pieces
1/2 large (3# or so) butternut squash, peeled and cut into large cubes
1 large sweet onion, sliced
3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
1 cup chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon garam masala seasoning
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 (10 ounce) package of baby bella mushrooms, wiped clean and cut into quarters
1 (10 ounce) bag frozen petite peas, defrosted

2 cups basmati or jasmine rice (when prepared this equals 4 cups)

directions:

  • mix together the spices and liquids; pour into slow cooker
  • turn slow cooker on ‘high’ at this point
  • add (in this order) the butternut squash, onions, carrots, and chicken pieces
  • cover and allow to cook on high for one hour
  • turn knob to low, and cook for 3-4 additional hours
  • don’t forget to toss in the mushrooms towards the end of cooking time

finishing and serving

  • about 15 minutes before you would like to serve, place all of the cooked chicken and about 1/2 of the veggies into a large serving dish
  • use an immersion blender* to carefully puree the rest of the veggies together with the liquid right in the slow cooker bowl
  • taste for seasoning, adding salt&pepper if necessary
  • stir in the defrosted peas
  • pour this ‘sauce’ right over the set aside chicken & veggies

* you can also use a blender, CAREFULLY pureeing the veggies and liquid in small batches.

♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

GCH: What’s on Your Plate? — Chicken Casserole

November 20, 2012 by

One of my favorite dishes that my mom used to make was her Chicken Casserole… she passed away in 2004 but I am blessed to have her handwritten copy of the recipe.  Every time I make it, it feels like she’s still here.  Food can bring back vivid memories, don’t you think?  I guess that’s why I like to make this recipe often!  I hope you will enjoy it too….

Here is what you’ll need:

2 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing… one Cornbread flavor and one Chicken flavor. (I only had Cornbread and Turkey flavors on hand so that’s what I used here… improvise, people! lol)

2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup

1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup… Note: my husband and I are picky eaters and we do not care for mushrooms.  BUT we do like the taste of cream of mushroom soup (weird huh?), so I strain out the mushroom pieces whenever I use it in a recipe.  But if you’re a mushroom fan, by all means, leave them in.

3 large chicken breasts

2 sticks of butter (I used salted, but use whatever floats your boat) – Paula Deen would be proud 😉

2 cans of chicken broth

9×13 baking dish

Extra butter or Cooking Spray to grease the baking dish

First – cook your chicken.  You can do this on the stove in a pot with water or broth.  I like to throw some frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker with water or broth (if I have some handy) and let them cook for 4-6 hours on high.  The chicken will be so tender you can shred it with a fork.  So that’s what I did here.  If you cook your chicken on the stove, you will need to dice it up into small pieces when it’s done.

While that’s happening, you need to get everything else ready in separate bowls.

Dump the two boxes of stuffing into a large bowl.  DO NOT prepare the stuffing as directed on the boxes.  Just throw the dry stuffing into a large bowl.  Then take your two sticks of butter and melt them in the microwave and add to the stuffing.  Mix it up good so the butter covers all of the stuffing.  Now set that aside.

Next, you want to empty your can of cream of mushroom into a medium sized bowl (strained or unstrained, that is the question… ) Save the can and fill it full of chicken broth, then mix that into the cream of mushroom soup.  I use a whisk to make sure it’s mixed well.  Set the cream of mushroom mixture aside for now.

Next, put the two cans of cream of chicken into a large bowl and again, mix in one “can-ful” of chicken broth with a whisk.  Set this aside also.

If you haven’t already, shred or dice your chicken into another bowl.  Now you should have four bowls of ingredients waiting to be united in casserole goodness.  🙂

Spray or grease a 9×13 baking dish and start with a layer of stuffing mixture… use 1/3 of the mixture here.  Then add a layer of chicken… use 1/2 of the chicken here.  Now add in the cream of mushroom mixture then add another layer of the stuffing mixture… use half of what is left in the bowl.  Then add a layer of chicken, use all that you have left.  Then, add the cream of chicken mixture and then top with the last of the stuffing mixture.

Doesn’t that look amazing?  My mouth is watering just thinking about it…. now pop that baby in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until the edges are bubbling and the top layer of stuffing is golden brown.

Mmmmm mmmm good!  I can’t begin to tell you how good this stuff is.  You just have to make it for yourself…. immediately.  It really is pretty easy to make too.  And this makes enough so that you’ll have leftovers tomorrow!  Hooray!  I’m so glad my mother left me this recipe…. now I’m off to go eat a huge bowl of it!! 😉

God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food! 🙂

<3 Shauna

PS – Shauna can also be found on her personal blog, www.workhomeplay.net.

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,