Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

I love Chicken Tikka Masala, especially at a particular restaurant close to me.  But with trying to eat out less, I have been trying to perfect some of my favorite dishes at home (and I love my crock pot and try to use it at least one time a week).  Though this is not exactly like my fave dish at my fave Indian restaurant, it is still pretty darn good!

Ingredients:

• 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1"-2" cubes
• 1-2 green bell peppers cut into long strips (I had forgotten this so that is why peppers are not in the photos below!)
• 1 large onion diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 28 oz. can tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ginger
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you would like the dish)
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• Cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, bell peppers, onion,  garlic, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, ginger, Garam Masala, cumin, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and black pepper.  Make sure there is an even color throughout showing it is all mixed well.
2. Spray your crock pot dish with Pam spray.  Pour mixture into the crock pot and then add your 2 bay leaves .
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  During the last 30 minutes of cooking, follow directions from step 4 below after removing the bay leaves.
4. Blend together the heavy cream and corn starch. Add the mixture to the crock pot, ensuring that it is mixed well and the color in the crock pot is consistent.  Cook for an additional 30 minutes.
5. Serve over cooked rice (I prefer brown rice).

Mixture after pouring into the crock pot, before cooking.

After cooking and adding the heavy cream and cornstarch mixture.

Serve over rice!

Easy Crock Pot Jambalaya Recipe

Okay, so it is not authentic Jambalaya, but it still tastes pretty darn good!  I could not help but keep going for seconds!  Be sure to use the sausage of your choice, the good sausage that you can get in Louisiana is not necessarily something you find regularly in Kentucky, but I ended up using turkey sausage since I am trying to watch my waistline.  It was not as great with the turkey sausage, I was craving more taste from the sausage, but something to consider if you are watching calorie intake, or choose the sausage that you love (perhaps andouille sausage if it is something you can find easily?).  I also recommend cooking the rice separately, I can never get the rice correct when making it in the crock pot!  This recipe is not too spicy to me, but it does have a little kick to it.  Adjust the hot sauce and spices to suit your taste!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes (drain a little bit of the juice as this recipes becomes very soupy as it cooks in the crock pot)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 14.5 oz chicken broth
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce ( I used Tabasco sauce)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (I used Ragin' Cajun Fixin's All Purpose Cajun Seasoning)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails (I just pulled mine off after defrosting)
• 14 oz turkey kielbasa sausage sliced (or sausage of your choice!)

Directions:

1. Mix the following ingredients in the crock pot: chicken, diced tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, celery, broth, garlic, hot sauce, oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, thyme.  Place in the 2 bay leaves.  IF YOUR SAUSAGE IS NOT PRE-COOKED, ALSO INCLUDE THE SAUSAGE AT THIS TIME!
2. Crock pots differ in time, my low setting cooks quickly.  If you feel yours cooks slow or fast, please adjust.  For the basic recipe, time it to be about 7-8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high (mine actually cooks on low in about 6 hours, so use your gut and just make sure that chicken is cooked!). 
3. During the last 45 minutes of cook time, take out the bay leaves and stir in the shrimp and sausage (if you did not include the sausage at the beginning of the recipe).  Since I used a simple turkey sausage that is pre-cooked, the last 45 minutes is fine. 
4. Cook your rice separately and place the crock pot mix on top of your rice.  Add as much juice from the crock pot as you like (it turns out a little soupy after cooking).

The Cajun seasoning I used.

The mixture in Step 1 before cooking.

After cooking and adding the sausage and shrimp.

Mixture with juice drained sitting on top of rice.