Jambalaya (and my review for "Slow Cookers for Dummies")

This is a two-part blog, the first being a review for "Slow Cookers for Dummies" and the second is my recipe for Jambalaya that I adapted from SCFD (hence the review). So there.

Slow Cookers for Dummies

After expressing my dire need for a more current slow cooker book, my wonderful mother-in-law sent me this book full of slow cooking tips, tricks, and recipes. As I am not a "slow cooking dummy," I'm going to be honest: I have not read the text book information on crockpots and how they work. There could be oodles of slow cooking secrets hidden within the pages of endless text, but as to what they are, I am clueless.

One of my weaknesses My ONLY weakness in this world is that I do not learn well through reading; put another way, I learn best visually (pictures!) and kinetically (aka by doing it). Sadly, SCFD doesn't have pictures. 

Sidebar: I think all cookbooks should have pictures of EVERY RECIPE! I want to know if that casserole I made is supposed to look like sewage.

Thus, I jumped into the recipe section and started guessing what might taste good. So far, I've made an excellent vegetarian chili that I forgot to photograph and probably won't make again because my husband doesn't like all the beans that make him (us) gassy. I must say, bean farts are really painful-- you know you were thinking it! And I also made Jambalaya.

My one MAJOR complaint about the recipes in "SCFD is that each recipe requiring vegetables (onions, peppers, garlic) directs that you sauté everything first. The whole point of a slow cooker is to save time and effort by slowly cooking your food! Which makes me wonder if "Slow Cookers for Dummies" was actually written by dummies.

On the plus side-- the food is great. With a little tweaking, I've got a great selection of current dishes to make and serve in my crockpot.

Jambalaya

For whatever reason, I occasionally crave New Orleans style cuisine even though I've never been there. Jambalaya is at the top of that list because I happen to love spicy sausage, shrimp, and peppers. 

If you frequent or are from New Orleans, you'll probably eat this and say "What the fuck?!" but for those of us who just love tomatoes, sausage, shrimp, and spices, it's delicious. This isn't the exact recipe from the book: I changed a few ingredients and a bit of the process, but the overall result was delicious. Enjoy!

1 lb. pre-cooked and deveined shrimp, tails removed

12oz pkg fully cooked andouille chicken or chicken apple sausage, diced

1 green pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp parsley

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 freshly ground pepper

Hot Sauce (I used Sriracha because it's what I had) 

28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 cup instant rice

Combine everything but the shrimp in your slow cooker. Cook on Low for 3 hours. Once cooked, add the shrimp and cook 20 minutes more until shrimp is pink. Serve.

Tips

•  I suggest buying a 1 lb. bag of frozen shrimp to save $$$
• When choosing a hot sauce, pick what you like and choose whatever level of spice you want. If you're not sure, start with 1 teaspoon.
• If you're not a fan of instant rice, omit the rice from the slow cooker. Cook the rice to package directions on the stove or with a rice cooker and add it to jambalaya when you add the shrimp.

Chicken Curry ~ Slow Cooker

My husband and I love curry. If I find a decent recipe with plenty of flavorful ingredients and spices, chances are I'll make it within a week after the discovery. In the past, I've made dry chicken curry-- all of the flavor and veggies without the coconut milk-- and a 30 minute, one skillet meal of coconut chicken curry which I have yet to share with you. This posting shall be my reminder.

With the sweltering heat over the last few weeks and consistent stomach pain every time I eat restaurant food (I'm trying to figure out if it's stress, an ulcer, or gluten intolerance without selling my soul to pay doctors' bills), I've needed recipes that utilize my crockpot or require little time on the stove so I can enjoy fresh, home-cooked foods.

And thus I give you Chicken Curry, adapted from Better Homes & Gardens:

Simple, loaded with flavor, and makes plenty for leftovers. As I'm avoiding rice since it continuously causes my stomach to expand to an uncomfortable level no matter how little I eat (what is happening to me?!), I used a cup of quinoa. Quite the delicious substitution. 

VEGETARIANS!! If meat isn't your thing, opt to make this vegetarian by frying up some tofu (or whatever protein substitute you like) and adding it at the end. Or simply omit the chicken & flour, add chunks of squash, and use quinoa & nuts as your protein. 

One other chef's tip: be sure you have coconut milk before you get all of your ingredients and cooking tools ready on the counter and then have to put them away because you need to walk to the convenience store in 100 degree heat. Happy Cooking!!!

Chicken Curry

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour 

3 Tbsp curry powder

1 - 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 - 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces

4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (you can remove the skins if you want)

4 small carrots, bias-cut

1 cooking apple, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth 

1 ~ 13.5oz can unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup quinoa or rice, cooked per instructions

Peanuts

Cilantro

Green Onions

Raisins

In large plastic bag combine flour, curry powder, cumin, and salt. Add chicken a few pieces at a time; seal and shake to coat.

In a 4 quart slow cooker, combine potatoes, carrots, apple, onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Top with chicken and pour broth over mixture. Cover. Cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.

If using low-heat, after the chicken & veggies have cooked for the allotted time turn the slow cooker to the high-heat setting. Add the coconut milk and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve over cooked quinoa or rice and garnish with your choice of toppings.