Crockpot Masala Chicken & Chickpeas

Hi there!

Guess what day it is?!

Um, no. It’s not Wednesday. Yet. That’s tomorrow. Patience, grasshopper.

It’s Tasty Tuesday!!

After you check out my tasty new recipe and subsequently go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients so you can have it for dinner tomorrow, don’t forget to head on over to Lena’s page to check out all the other Tasty Tuesday yumminess!

Oh wait, check out her page first. She’s got tomorrow’s breakfast covered.  🙂

 I had picked up some organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs from Harris Teeter but I didn’t really have a plan for them.

I wouldn’t recommend doing that on a regular basis. If you’re me, you might forget that you bought them, never be inspired, never come up with a plan and then they’ll go bad and you’ve just wasted money.

Wasting money is bad.

BUT, turns out I was inspired!

I decided to make a riff on Chana Masala and my Chana ma-Chicken and use my crockpot to do the heavy lifting.

Yes, Chana ma-Chicken. I told you I need work on recipe naming. #dontjudgeme

When I got home from work, the house smelled so delicious with all the lovely curry and Indian spicy smells.

You know, it just occurred to me how much that must torture my dogs when I cook in the crockpot. A dog’s sense of smell is what, a bazillian times greater than ours? Can you just imagine the anguish they must feel smelling delicious dinner ALL DAY LONG and then, they don’t even get any?!

It’s quite possible that I’m the worst doggy mama ever.

Crockpot Masala Chicken & Chickpeas
serves 4-6

2-3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounces) fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon allspice
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Cooked rice, for serving

1. Place chicken thighs and chickpeas in crockpot.

2. In a small bowl, mix diced tomatoes and spices. Pour over chicken and chickpeas. Cover crockpot and cook on low, 8 hours.

3. NOM. NOM. NOM.

 Talk to me: What’s your favorite chickpea recipe? How many times a week do you use your crockpot?

 

 

– jennifer

Randomness, Things I’m listening to and Chutney Chicken One Pot

Hello!

Happy Monday!

So, do you ever have random songs just pop into your head? And, by random, I mean songs you don’t normally hear on the radio. Is that just me?

Well, this morning, out of nowhere – and I really can’t explain it because I spent time watching pre-season football this weekend, NOT children’s shows – came this doozy:

I know. I’m sorry. I should be ashamed of myself. One for the song bomb and two, because I subjected you to Barney!

I’m sorry. Really, I am.

If you only knew how much I am NOT a fan of Barney, you would understand my consternation. Ugh.

Moving on….it’s the only way…..

I love listening to music when I’m cooking or cleaning or just hanging around. I have a wide variety of tastes (see above) but lately, I’ve been reaching for these artists:

1. Amy Winehouse

2. Etta James

3. Ray LaMontagne

If you don’t know who Ray LaMontagne is, you are totally missing out.

4. Liz Longley

Same with Liz Longley. Check her stuff out. You won’t be sorry!

5. Duffy

It seems they’re always in my CD player.

Yes, I still have CDs. I’m old-fashioned. You don’t EVEN want me to tell you about the reel-to-reel player I have! Now, THAT’s old school.

Anyway, if I’m not playing one of those, I’m usually playing some standards or maybe some Ella Fitzgerald.

And, then, while relaxing in my kitchen, I make things like this:

Chutney Chicken One Pot! Click the photo to go to the recipe on my Facebook page!

Chutney Chicken One Pot.

Oh. So. Yummy.

Do you like my ginormous cast iron skillet?

Questions:

1. Do you cook with cast iron?

2. What are you listening to these days? I love suggestions!

3. Can you forgive me for the purple dinosaur?

– jennifer

Weekend Shenanigans & Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken

Hello, hello!

How is your weekend going? 🙂

We’re having a pretty decent weekend.

Kicked it off by hanging out with my sailor and some of his buddies on Friday after work.

Um, nope, not water in the glass but I do have water as a chaser. 🙂 And I may or may not have eaten a ridiculous amount of sausage pizza.

On Saturday, we were supposed to go to a Navy car wash but rain kept us away. We ended up going to lunch and watched the rain. I had an AMAZING turkey and cranberry chutney sandwich. Seriously, this was major happiness in my mouth!

After lunch, we hit up our local “we sell everything under the sun” hardware store where I snagged an awesome new cast iron skillet!

This thing is HUGE! It’s 17 inches and I can’t wait to use it! It’s a little too big to fit into my cabinet so it’s “put away” spot is going to be right there on the stove. Haha!

I met up with some friends later for a Blue Wahoos baseball game. Yes, the Blue Wahoos. No, I don’t get it either.

Hugest. Picture. Ever.

It would have been so much better if they had won. They were leading 6-1 and they gave up 5 runs in the top of the 9th. *sigh*  We left during the top of the 12th because it didn’t look like the game was ever going to end. I checked after I got home and the game went through 16 (!) innings and they ended up losing 8-6.  They were so close! Oh well.

Today’s been pretty relaxing – laundry, grocery shopping, got Christine’s oil changed and I’ve been watching pre-season football and the Track and Field World Championships. I LOVE days like this.  🙂

Oh, and this happened, too.

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken
makes 8 servings
(recipe from the coolest lady on the planet, Ms. Betty Crocker)

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice
1 cup baby-cut carrots, cut in half
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped gingerroot
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Hot cooked rice or chow mein noodles, if desired

1. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Place pineapple chunks in small bowl; cover and refrigerate.

2. Place carrots, onion, garlic and gingerroot in 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top with chicken. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar and reserved pineapple juice; pour over chicken.

3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 9 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink.

4. During last 30 minutes, add pineapple and bell peppers. Increase to high heat setting. Mix cornstarch and water; stir into chicken mixture during last 10 minutes of cooking. Serve with rice.

5. Om nom nom!

Questions:

1. What did you do this weekend?

2. Baseball – FUN! or No Way, Jose?

– jennifer