...pointed out Fat Charlie.

Group dinner happened yet again this week, it is ending up to be a decent time of the week for everyone involved from what I can tell.We have some interesting diets to adhere to (my "South Beach" and my friend's "Nothing Processed to get hormones under control" are the main two) so there is sometimes a bit of a dance, but it makes for a nice challenge.

Unfortunately, this week I was craving curry....bad. Specifically coconut milk based curry. This doesn't work for our friends nothing processed so I ended up making a chicken/veggie stir fry sans rice for her. For my Phase 1 self, I just didn't eat rice and for the "add in as desired" veggies, I only added ones that are approved for Phase 1. I know Coconut Milk isn't approved, but a lady has to feed the need as least a little. 

So I present to you my personally made Crockpot curry recipe. 

Cat's Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry Vegetable Extravaganza

Ingredients

SAUCE

½ cup coconut milk – light

½ cup chicken stock – low sodium

15 oz can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons curry powder – salt-free

1 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons minced ginger, fresh

2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2-3 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon citrus of choice zest

YUMMIES

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken

1 onion

½ cup cashews, if desired

ADD IN AS DESIRED: 

Broccoli

Bell Pepper

Green Beans

Chickpeas

Squash

Cauliflower

Asparagus

Bamboo Shoots

Spinach

Tomatoes

Baby Corn

Potatoes

Carrots

5 Minutes before serving:

1 cup Green Peas, frozen, if desired

2 tablespoons lemon/lime juice

Optional Garnish:

Green Onion or Cilantro

Method:

In the bottom of the slow cooker, whisk together coconut milk, chicken stock, tomato sauce, curry powder, spices/herbs, fish sauce, brown sugar, and zest.

Add chicken, onion, cashews (if desired) and other desired vegetables. Using tongs, gently toss ingredients together to ensure evenly coated.

Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours.

Stir in frozen peas and citrus juice 5 minutes before serving.

Serve over rice and with plenty of green onion or cilantro.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So after I wrote this AMAZING recipe, I got a text from best friend's husband saying he doesn't like coconut. So what does a lady chef do in this situation? She cooks the chicken and veggies with no processed/canned foods in the Crockpot and a sauce to apply as desired.

This is the sauce I made:
Basic Curry Sauce
Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons ground coriander

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1-2 teaspoons curry powder

2 tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 cup yogurt, whisked until smooth

1 cup water

Heat oil in a small skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until very brown, 10 to 15 minutes. (Note: This is an important step; if onion is not cooked well, sauce will taste funny.)

Add ginger and garlic to onion and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Process onion/ginger/garlic mixture in food processor until smooth. Do not rinse food processor.

Place onion mixture in a large saucepan. Stir in the cinnamon, black pepper, coriander, cumin, curry, and cayenne pepper and cook over low heat until mixture is thick and has the consistency of a paste.

Puree tomatoes and cilantro in food processor until smooth. Add to onion mixture and stir well over low heat, cooking off moisture from tomatoes and cilantro. Add yogurt a little bit at a time, stirring constantly to avoid curdling.

Blend the whole mixture in food processor to puree it (for a very smooth sauce). Return to saucepan, add water and increase heat to high; bring sauce to a rolling boil. Cover saucepan and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until desired consistency is reached.

Add to already cooked meat and veggies and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve over rice.

With Slow Cooker Roasted Veggies:

Thanks to http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/01/10/how-to-roast-vegetables-in-the-slow-cooker/

Grease your crock pot, then add all the veggies. (I used a 4-quart slow cooker.) Season with the salt, herbs, and oil, then stir to evenly coat. Cook 3 hours on high (or longer on low), stirring just once every hour or so. At this point, you can open the lid and drain the liquid for another use. Don’t discard it; the liquid is seriously delicious! I just drank it like soup. The veggies will be a softer texture than oven-roasted veggies, but they are actually even more flavorful and sweet. Crockpots—thanks to their slow and steady heating—are known to heighten the flavor of whatever you’re cooking.

I also just threw the chicken tenderloins in there too since no one is vegetarian in the group.

This turned out much better than I expected to be honest. The flavor was not too much of any one spice, nor was it too thin (I didn't add all the water the recipe called for though).While it would have been better with the veg and meat cooked in the sauce, it worked out the way it was made! I am looking forward to doing the first recipe still though.

Until the next meal...

**Today's title comes from Neil Gaiman's book Anansi Boys: “There are three things, and three things only, that can lift the pain of mortality and ease the ravages of life,” said Spider. “These things are wine, women and song"... "Curry’s nice too" pointed out Fat Charlie **