curry

Crockpot Chicken, Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Curry

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

I love easy slow cooker meals that can be prepped ahead of time, are healthy, delicious and don’t take a lot of preparation. Slow cooker meals that require no cooking ahead of time (what’s the point of that?!) or browning of meat. Kid-friendly slow cooker meals. And, slow cooker meals that are just as good in the summer as they are in the winter.

That is why I love this dish. My husband, baby girl and I all love it. (Confession my picky toddler won’t eat any of it but the sweet potatoes) I can make it ahead of time AND it tastes good 1-2 days later! If you’re looking for an easy, healthy weeknight crockpot meal, here it is.

Crockpot Chicken, Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Curry

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 15 oz can full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth low sodium
  • 3 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 whole cauliflower, chopped (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups)
  • 1 medium onion thinly sliced
  • 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
  • 15 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • Optional; for serving: Rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa

Here’s what you do:

  • Combine coconut milk, chicken broth and curry powder and add to the bottom of your slow cooker.
  • Add chicken breasts, cauliflower, onion, chickpeas, canned tomatoes and sweet potatoes. Gently toss together to make sure everything is coated with coconut milk/broth/curry.
  • Cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours or High for 4 hours.
  • OPTIONAL: Depending how much broth/juice you have after cooking, you can take out 1-2 cups of broth mixed with cauliflower and sweet potato and blend until mushy (yes that’s the technical term) before putting back in. I love doing this as it adds a nice thick sauce.
  • Stir in peas 5 minutes before serving. I like to serve mine over cauliflower rice for even more cauliflower goodness. But, you may enjoy it over regular rice, quinoa or even just with a side of naan.

Some questions:

  • What’s your go-to slow cooker meal?
  • Do you like curry?

Meatless Monday: Thai Style Green Curry Stir Fry with Freekeh

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 8 Comments

I have a confession. I’ve been slacking off. Slacking off with meal planning. Slacking off with food prep. And eating some of the same meals over and over again (hint: one rhymes with Bibotle Churrito Coal). Work has been busy. Life has been busy. And I’ve been somewhat uninspired. Which is likely why it’s been a while since I shared a Meatless Monday post, and even longer since I shared a freekeh recipe (the last one was cajun shrimp freekeh) … That’s why when I cleaned out my pantry last weekend and saw the bag of freekeh AND cans of curry paste, I got excited. Inspired. I had one meal for the week planned out! Yes, I got excited over one meal … it’s the little things.

So here you go. Something easy. Quick. With leftovers! And something to hopefully inspire you for a delicious vegetarian meal!

thai style freekeh green curry stirfry icrashedtheweb

Thai Style Green Curry Stir Fry with Freekeh

Serves 2ish (Made two dinner portions plus a lunchtime portion for me for leftovers)

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup cooked freekeh (I used Freekeh Foods brand)
  • 1 Tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 clove garlic, finely diced
  • 1 sweet potato, chopped into thin pieces
  • 1 carrot, roughly chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup green beens, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 Tablespoon green curry paste (I used Maesri Green Curry Paste)

Here’s what you do:

  1. Prepare the freekeh according to package directions. I love the Freekeh Foods original because it’s cracked freekeh and easy to prepare and takes only 25 minutes to cook. If you get the whole freekeh (not cracked) it takes a loooot longer to cook. My mom did that once. Don’t make that mistake.
  2. Heat canola oil in a pan on medium heat. Add in garlic and cook for about a minute. Turn up heat to medium high and toss in sweet potatoes and carrot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until starts to get soft. Add in rest of veggies – onion, pepper, green beans.
  3. While the veggies are cooking, prepare your sauce. In a separate sauce pan, heat up coconut milk with green curry paste. Whisk together or stir with a spoon until green curry is evenly distributed and mixture is thin and light green. If you’re a fan of more spice, you can probably add in some more green curry paste, to taste. A little goes a long way! (And alternatively, if you prefer less heat to your curry you can always add in less paste or more coconut milk)
  4. After veggies are nearly done, about 4-5 more minutes, add in the curry sauce and toss in the freekeh. Stir everything together so that it’s heated through and the sauce is throughout. Avoid overcooking your veggies – I like mine slightly crisp and not mushy – and serve immediately.

green curry over freekeh - icrashedtheweb

Some questions for you:

  1. Have you ever had freekeh before? How did you prepare it or have it cooked?
  2. What’s the best meatfree dish you’ve eaten recently?

For more Meatless Monday posts, check out some of my past recipes or visit the linkups below!

Meatless Monday!

WIAW #15: Another Meatless Monday

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 8 Comments

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! These were my eats from this past Monday, which was the day after the Cleveland half marathon and for some reason I was STARVING that day. I managed to be busy at work/etc. so I didn’t have as much time for snackage as I would’ve liked. But let me tell you. Starving.

It was the day after the race, so I kept it easy with my workout – a reallllly easy slow elliptical workout and then a walk on the treadmill to get my legs moving. Boy, my quads were tight! I was hungry by the time I got in around 8. I scarfed down the breakfast that B had made for me – and guess what – it’s different than last week! NO egg whites in our house (sad face :() but instead a veggie burger, spinach and frozen veggies. I also had a clementine.

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For lunch, we went out to celebrate our new intern’s first day. I got a miso soup and salad.

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Okay, I was snacking that day …

Some baby carrots (here’s the empty bag … I already ate them, whoops!)

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An apple … (check out my race nails from the expo!)

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And some cashews and sweet/salty pecans…these are soooo good!

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Dinner was SOOOO good. I made some vegetarian curry with zucchini, chickpeas, peppers and onions and green curry.

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And a Tagalong and Arctic Zero for dessert

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Two questions for you:

  • What’s your favorite veggie burger – any good store-bought brand recmomendations?
  • Favorite Girl Scout cookie? Tagalongs or Do-Si-Dos!

 

Meatless Monday: Easy Eggplant and Squash Curry

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

“We haven’t had Indian food in a while,” said B the other day. He was right – we were on a stint for a while where we were having Indian food as our go-to takeout or eat-out option on a somewhat (not daily) regular basis. And it’s true, I can’t recall the last time we both went out for Indian food. OR Thai food. BUT I’ve been on a going-out-to-eat spree and didn’t really want to continue it. Between traveling for work, lack of groceries and birthday / friend / etc. meals, I’m somewhat getting tired of eating out. Just ask B – I go eat to eat 4 times in a row and I’m sick of it.

Anyway, that’s why I decided to make some semi-Indian/Thai-hybrid dinner from what we had on hand in our apartment. OK, it’s probably neither (sorry if you are an expert in either cuisine) – it’s just a vegetarian curry dish. Anyway, we go to the West Side Market nearly weekly and tend to stock up on a ton of veggies from our favorite stand – and last week I had gotten tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, onions and more. Keeping this in mind, and seeing a few fun recipes online, I decided to recreate the Indian/Thai/Going Out To Eat food experience right from our apartment.

eggplant and squash curry over quinoa - i crashed the web

Eggplant and Squash Curry with Quinoa

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 3 TBS olive oil, divided into 1TBS and 2 TBS
  • 3 TBS cumin, divided
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 red bell peppers, diced and seeded
  • 1 onion (I used a red onion), sliced into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 medium eggplant, diced into bite-size pieces
  • 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
  •  3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2 TBS curry powder
  • 1 teaspon ground cardamom
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1 can (1 ½ cups) chickpeas
  • 1 c. quinoa, cooked according to package directions (typically with 2 c water)
  • ¼ c unsweetened coconut

Here’s what you do:

  1. Reheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Peel and cut squash into bite-sized pieces, about 1 inch squares. toss with 1 TBS of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and 1 TBS cumin.
  3. Place seasoned squash on a baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until squash is soft and starting to brown.
  4. While squash is cooking, heat  2 TBS olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped pepper, onion, eggplant, ginger and garlic. Add salt, pepper, curry powder, cardamom and 1 TBS cumin. Cook for 3-5 minutes, letting vegetables start to get tender.
  5. Cover the skillet and cook for 10 minutes or until eggplant is softened. Add in roasted squash, canned tomatoes in juice and chickpeas. Add another tablespoon of cumin. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
  6. Add in cooked quinoa and unsweetened coconut and cook for another minute.
  7. Enjoy!
eggplant and squash curry - icrashedtheweb.jpg

Add in the quinoa and coconut …

eggplant and squash curry - icrashedtheweb.jpg

Enjoy!

Some notes:

  • B thought this recipe was “so so” and when I asked him what he’d change he said “maybe a little less seasoning next time.” SO please use the curry/cardamom/cumin guidelines to taste – you can always add more as it continues to cook.
  •  B also doesn’t like coconut so I only added a handful to the final dish, and mostly on the portion I was eating – feel free to add more, and even some coconut milk if you prefer coconut curry to traditional curry.
  • I have used the powdered red curry, which is spicier than the yellow curry I have. Thus I didn’t add any chili powder. If you like it spicy and you only have yellow (not-so-spicy) curry on hand, feel free to add some chili powder as well!

Some questions for you: Share your answers in the comments – mine are in italic!

  • Do you ever just literally throw everything you have on hand into a dish to see what happens? Yes, too often. In this case I was actually kinda pleased with myself – it seems pre-thought out!
  • What’s your favorite Indian food dish?  I love Chicken Tikka Masala or anything Vindaloo.
  • What’s your favorite Thai dish? Any thai soup, or pad ke mao and I love their spring rolls!
  • How often do you go out to eat? How often do you feel is “too much?” I don’t know why, but after eating 3-4 meals out in a row I start to feel sick/gross. Even if I’m eating healthy, I just prefer homemade meals!

Ireland Adventure Recap: Part Two – London!

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

Part Two: London (Part One: Dublin, here)

London Day One: B and I enjoyed a short flight from Dublin to Heathrow, and arrived in London around dinnertime. We looked at a map and decided to just take the tube to our hotel in Chelsea. After getting off the tube, we were walking and walking until we came upon a huge soccer stadium and got excited – that has to be the Chelsea Football Club! But it wasn’t. In fact it was the soccer stadium that was we had passed two two tube stops previously. Woops! We had gotten lost on the way to our hotel and walked 40 minutes in the wrong direction! We finally made our way back to our original stop, and of course found our hotel just a few blocks in the other direction.

After checking in, we decided to walk around the area to find a spot for dinner. We ended up selecting a nearby Indian restaurant, which had great food! Despite the less-than-nice server (how dare he question B’s ability to eat lamb vindaloo, or me to eat spicy chicken without rice?!) the food was great.

A group at the London Pride Parade

Day Two: Our Walking Route (about 8 mi)

London Day Two: On our second day in London, it was time to explore! We took the tube downtown and got off at St. James’s Park and walked to visit Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square (where we ran into and got to enjoy the city’s Pride Parade!), the horse guard, Westminster Abbey, and more. Then we crossed the river and toured the other side – taking in the sights like the London Eye, The Globe Theater, the Jubilee Gardens, the London Bridge – before crossing the Tower Bridge to get a better look at the Tower of London and then find our way to dinner and drinks at the pub, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.  B had been to London twice before, and each time had wanted to go to this old pub (it’s been around since the 1500s! Or as one Brit pointed out when we were there, “Longer than your country has been around.” I did mention that America was around..just not our government) and we finally made it there! My food was kinda bland, but the old pub atmosphere, shared tables and drinks made for a fun night.

in front of the Tower Bridge – ready for the Olympics

B and me at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

Less than stellar food at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (my “pie” is on the left)

In case you didn’t realize it, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is really old

London Day Three:B and I took the train again to St. James’s Park and decided to spend the day seeing some of the sights we hadn’t gotten to the day before. We first started at the Churchill War Rooms museum which was really cool. While B is a history buff, I hadn’t expected to enjoy the exhibits so much – I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re looking for something different, and indoors, to do in London. After spending a few hours in the museum, it was time to go shopping! We hit all the ones on my list (including Top Shop and Harrod’s) minus Boden, which apparently only has two stores and not downtown. Oh well. After a long day of touring and shopping, it was time to try a typical Sunday meal – a roast. We headed back to Chelsea for yet another meat and potato (chips this time) meal and of course a few pints. Being Sunday, not much was open too late, which wasn’t that bad, because we had to be up early for our return flight to Dublin. In Dublin we were going to rent a car and head west, beginning the second adventure of our trip. More to come on that …

(Part one of this post, our Dublin trip recap, can be found here)