Costumes and Curry

Great park day today. I always feel refreshed when I get home. The support I get from my park mamas is so needed and welcomed. But it also feels good to be able to lift up and support someone else as well. Normally, at this time of the year, we have a candy exchange and pot luck. Some of the kids will wear their costumes and, if we're on the ball, there are prizes. We weren't as much on the ball this year. We didn't have a potluck, no candy got exchanged, but there were costumes. This year, my kids recycled costumes from years past and even used some old dance recital costumes. Thank goodness for that. I love to see the kids.

And when we got home, we had Indian Chicken Stew waiting for us. It smelled so amazing!!!! I bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts specifically for this recipe. I got this out of my Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I have really enjoyed my free year and will be really sad when it ends. I also got use a spice that I have eaten, but never cooked with- curry. And of course, I cooked it in my crockpot because I love my crockpot.

Slow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 tsp curry powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper and/or cayenne pepper
2 15 oz cans garbanzo beans (chick peas), rinsed and drained
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 Tbs lime juice
1 9 oz pkg of fresh spinach (optional)
Hot, cooked rice (optional)

Lightly coat crockpot with oil or non-stick spray. Add chicken, onion, and garlic to slow cooker. Add curry, ginger, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker. Toss to coat. Stir in drained beans, undrained tomatoes, broth, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on high heat for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Stir in lime juice into cooked stew. Stir spinach into stew and let stand 2-3 minutes to wilt. Serve with rice.

I used chicken breasts not thighs, but either would work. I forgot to add the lime juice, but it had been a long day and we were just getting home from dance. I don't like cooked or wilted spinach, so I didn't add it, but if you could see the picture it looks beautiful. We did serve ours over rice. We use a Japanese sticky rice, but I had a hankering for brown rice with this. That's saying something since I'm not much of a brown rice kind of gal. I used fresh ginger because I had it. If you don't have it, ground is just fine. I have found, though, that you need to go a little heavier on the spices than what they have. I went heavy on the curry and ginger and it was very tasty. This was really good and very filling. It would be great to come home to on a cold night.

So that's the wrap up. I hope you get a chance to try this recipe. Enjoy the fall festivals and trick or treating. I hope you have cool weather and a Happy Halloween.

Have a great day.