Slow Cooker Chicken Rice Curry

Ok, so this was one of the easiest curries I've ever made!  Plus, me and my husband quite enjoyed it!  My husband is Indian too, so he is a tad pickier than most about his curry.  We really liked this one because it had more of an authentic flavor to it than other recipes we have tried.  The only difference from the usual curry that we are accustomed to is that it has almost no heat to it.  Usually the curry we eat it has some serious spice to it, but this is extremely mild...like no heat.  So if you do like spice, then you will want to add some cayenne pepper, or anything else you think would taste good to add heat to the dish.  We still enjoyed it without the spice though so it was all good. :)  I did leave the raisins out, however, because neither me or my husband will eat them, I used 6 chicken thighs instead of breast halves (I like the meat better myself), and I added about 1/2 tsp of onion salt as well.  Lastly, I did not do the last step of adding instant rice to the slow cooker at the end.  Instant rice and curry just don't mix, in my opinion.  So I just cooked my meat and gravy on low for 8 hours and about 30 minutes before it ended, I made my own jasmine rice in a separate rice cooker.  You can decide which method you prefer.  I hope you enjoy this recipe!  It is seriously easy, no need to be intimidated, which curry can often induce.  And the meat was so tender, I could barely keep it together to serve it on my rice!  Very yummy, indeed.

Makes 6 servings.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH plus 20 minutes on HIGH

4 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds), skin removed
1 tablespoon McCormick® Curry Powder
1 package McCormick® Chicken Gravy Mix
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium Golden Delicious apple, unpeeled, cored and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup McCormick® Onions, Chopped
2 McCormick® Bay Leaves, broken in half
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
1 cup instant rice

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut each breast half into 2 pieces. Sprinkle chicken with curry powder.

2. Gradually stir Gravy Mix into broth in slow cooker until well blended. Add seasoned chicken and remaining ingredients except rice; stir well. Cover.

3. Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH.

4. Gently stir in rice. Cover. Cook 15 to 20 minutes longer on HIGH or until rice is tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Slow Cooker Tip: For best results, do not remove cover during cooking.

Gluten free:  use a GF gravy packet- the only flavor I had available to me at the time was Savory Herb, instead of chicken, but with the chicken broth included in the recipe, it was still delicious.

Recipe and photo found on mccormick.com

Taco Tater Tot Bake

Me and my husband really enjoyed this dish!  It was similar to any tater tot casserole, with a twist of Mexican!  Delicious!!  The only change we made, was we only added about 2/3 bag of shredded cheese.  If we had used the whole thing, it would have been a bit too greasy for us.  But with 2/3 bag, it was perfect!


Ingredients:1lb ground beef
1 small onion (diced)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 small can black olives (sliced)
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen corn
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies (diced and drained)
1 (12 ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (16 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots
1 (10.5 ounce fluid ounce) can enchilada sauce

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat a skillet to medium high heat. Add ground beef, garlic, and onion and cook while breaking the meat apart with a spoon or spatula until the ground beef is completely browned. Drain off any excess fat. Add taco seasoning mix, green chilies, frozen corn, and black beans to the ground beef. Cook until heated through.
Step 2: In a large bowl combine ground beef mixture, ¾ of the Mexican cheese blend, and all of the tater tots. Stir well to combine.
Step 3: Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish and lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tots.
Step 4: Place into the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, top the casserole with the remaining Mexican cheese blend and the sliced black olives. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
(Makes 6 Servings)


Gluten free:  use a GF taco seasoning mix (I'm always able to use Kroger brand without a problem), and GF enchilada sauce.

Recipe and photo found on blogchef.net