It’s that time of year to dust off your crock pot and put it to good use!  As the days get shorter, I get less and less motivated to cook dinner.  Something about the sun going down before 6 p.m. completely zaps me of energy.  This is one of the many reasons, I exploit my crock pot throughout the fall and winter months.  Slow cooking anything is guaranteed to fill it with flavor and make it ultra-tender.  Not to mention, it saves you time and energy.

Chicken curry is one of our favorite weeknight meals.  By making it in the crock pot, the meat is so tender it simply falls apart in the creamy curry sauce.  I use a basic yellow curry powder from Global Market here in St. Louis.  The garam masala I use is from Penzys Spices.  These spices blend with the coconut milk to create a complex, flavorful sauce that reaches into every bite of chicken.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry (Maker’s Diet approved, adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

Serves 4

2 pounds, boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut in half

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into fourths

1 can full-fat coconut milk

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon garam masala

Directions:

1. Place chicken thighs in crock pot.

2. In a food processor, place all the other ingredients and processes until all ingredients are liquified into sauce.

3. Pour sauce over chicken, cover crock pot and cook on low for 5 hours.

4. After 5 hours, shred the chicken thighs with fork and stir everything together.  Cover again and cook on low for another 1 – 2 hours.

At this point, the sauce should of thickened up nicely.  If it is still too watery for you, then stir together 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.  Then, add the cornstarch mixture to the crock pot, stir and allow to cook for an additional hour on low.

Serve over rice or your favorite grain (couscous or quinoa could work as well).

Chicken curry is a hearty, but not overly heavy meal that is a great addition to your weeknight meal plan.  To make it even more healthy, you could add some vegetables, like frozen peas, fresh asparagus or broccoli to the crock pot about 15 minutes or so before serving.

You could also use chicken breasts; however, if you are budget conscious, the chicken thighs are an economical way to prepare this dish without compromising taste or quality of the dish.

What is your favorite way to prepare chicken curry?