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Hummus: Quick and Easy
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My favorite thing about cooking in a crock pot is the way the house smells so good all day. Mmm mmm mmm. Though I think it probably causes me to gain weight since all I can think about is food all day long.
Ignore the food a moment. Isn’t that a pretty plate? It was given to me as a wedding present. There used to be a matching platter that sadly fell and broke one day. Along with my heart because I loved it so. Anyway, I was at the orthodontist the other day waiting for my son and I was browsing through Martha Stewart’s magazine when I saw one of her recipes on this plate. My plate! She is such a copy cat.
Because of the overwhelming number of people (okay, two) who have requested easy recipes that you can just toss in the crockpot, I present an easy recipe. The most difficult part of this recipe was photographing it, because my SD card would not co-operate with me.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 tsp curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced
These are the things that you will need to chop, peel, dice, or otherwise attack with your knife.
I cut my chicken breasts in half, thickness wise, so that they are like cutlets. A trick to making this ten times easier is to do it when the breasts are still slightly frozen. It makes cutting them so much easier.
Then I slice them up into strips.
Put them into the bottom of the crock pot. Peel and quarter the onions an put them on top of the chicken. You could also dice the onions if you want to eat them. I have children who strongly object to that idea, so I like to keep them large enough to easily pick out myself.
I love sweet potatoes. For a long time I only ate them with gobs of butter and brown sugar piled on top, but over time I grew to appreciate them on their own. Not that I still don’t appreciate them loaded with sugar, my thighs, however, disagree.
Peel the sweet potatoes and dice them. The larger the pieces, the longer it will need to cook. This is especially important if you will be letting this cook all day long and don’t want to eat mashed sweet potatoes.
Measure out your orange juice.
It seems like a lot of curry. But it really isn’t if you like curry. Which I do. I used a mild variety.
Mix all of the spices and garlic right into the measuring cup.
Hey, what do you know I took a photo of my garlic press in action again. See, I really did NEED one.
Pour it all over the top of the sweet potatoes.
Put the lid on your crock pot, set it to low and let it cook 5-6 hours.
Invite some friends over to bask in the incredible good aroma that is flooding your home.
About thirty minutes before you want to eat dinner it is time to make your rice. You can just make plain rice instead of coconut rice, but why would you?
I used jasmine rice. I have also made this with basmati rice. Both of those have a more fragrant flavor that regular rice. But don’t let that put you off, use whatever kind of rice you have.
If you have never used coconut milk before you might be surprised when you open the can and find that it is thick with a watery bottom layer. This is normal. Coconut milk separates, sort of like the way non-homogenized milk used to back in the old days. Stir it up well.
You want to use this to replace half of the water required by the rice directions. Each can or coconut milk yields approx 2 cups of milk. I used 3 cups of rice to 4 cups of coconut milk to 2 cups of water ratio. Bring the water/milk to a boil. Add the rice. Reduce to simmer and cover.
Enjoy. Mmmm mmmm mmmm.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 am
What? No carrots?
Chris says: I know, it is shocking isn’t it?
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:17 am
ooh i can almost smell it through the screen!! i love curry… LOVE… hubby is terrified of it! i might have to make this for him and just not tell him it’s curry
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:53 am
Ooh, I’m picking up the ingredients for this one ASAP! By the way, I assume it’s just one garlic clove?
Don’t worry about the lack of carrots, the sweet potatoes will turn you just as orange.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I have a fanntastic chicken curry with pasta recipe, similar to this one. Anything with curry is good!
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Ooh - I’m making this next week for sure. I think I’ll use boneless thighs and try to do the rice in my rice cooker so that it’s all done ahead of time. Will report back with the results. Thanks for the great idea!
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I am so making this next week. Even King PickyPants is likely to eat this (though not the rice, NO NO NO RICE), because he can separate the foods out.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
This looks really good and yet another way to torture my children with sweet potatoes.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Hmmm, it says 2 sweet potatoes, but it sure looks like you might have used the 5 in the picture?
The carrots might be good too — maybe I’ll knock off a sweet potato or two and add in some carrots!
Looks and sounds delicious.
Chris says: Well I double all the recipes. It may make for confusing photos, but for the math challenged out there I thought it was easier to post a “normal” family sized recipe.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:13 pm
As one of the ‘overwhelming number of people’ requesting simple crock pot recipes, thank you!!! I am going to try this over the weekend–I just happen to have two sweet potatoes in my kitchen at this moment (plus a can of coconut milk, go figure) and I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do with them all until now. BTW, my son LOVED the chicken/salsa dish! And it was the first time in his life that he actually ate yellow corn.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I wonder if you can use something else instead of orange juice? My son is intolerant and the only juice he can have is lemonade (santa cruz). otherwise, this recipe actually works for his allergies. hmm.
Chris says: Hmmm, indeed. I would try it with lemonade. It is such a small amount proportionally that I think it would be fine. It is citrusy, right? If you do try be sure to let us all know how it worked out.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Looks so yummy! I may even make it tomorrow. I love that you post GF recipes. We’re always in need of some new, delicious ones–especially ones that work into the weight-loss diet. . .
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
The math challenged thank you!
Looks lovely!
Thanks!
P.S. Yes, you did NEED the garlic press! Good tools make the work go so much smoother, IMHO.
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Looks good, but my family has an aversion to sweet potatoes in any shape or form. Any suggestions for a viable substitution?
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Quartered onions! That’s brilliant. Usually I leave out the onions completely, but there are a few recipes where you need the flavor. Hubby objects to the texture, so this is a perfect workaround.
Thanks, the whole thing looks delicious. I have wanted to try a curry recipe, and maybe I’ll start with this one.
Chris says: Carrots?
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
How much garlic? Not listed w/ other ingredients. I’m assuming one clove for a “normal” recipe?
I wish I had seen this yesterday… I would have made it for tonight! YUM!
Chris says: Yes one clove! Going back to add it right now.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Thanks much for this recipe! I love Thai food, but haven’t figured out how to cook with screaming toddlers in the background! So I’ve resorted to crockpot cooking more than anything else.
I’m going to try this recipe over the weekend!
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
*DRRROOOOOOOOLLL*
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
ooh this sounds good. I made a coconut curry dish back in Jan that was beyond gross. I think it was because I went with light coconut milk. and I made it up. and I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m getting better now.
–steph
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Oh I love love love crockpot recipes. They make the house smell so homey. This looks yummy
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
This looks amazing! I will try it this weekend. I also tried your roasted carrots, potatoes, and chicken, which came out great despite my over-olive-oiling everything. I’m not a great cook, but I’m trying to learn. Thanks for making it a bit easier for me!
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Slicing the chicken breasts is much easier with good knives too!
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Yum! I’m so going to try this.
What kind of impact does the orange juice do? I’ve never heard of orange juice in a curry.
Chris says: Um, I think it just adds yummy-ness.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 am
I seriously adjusted my grocery list today to include this recipe and can’t wait to try it out on the family. My husband is a chef, so rarley do I WOW him, but I think I will with this dish! Thanks!
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 am
Sweet potatoes….and coconut milk….two of my favorite combinations. I’m definitely making this next week! Yum!
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:54 am
have you looked online for a replacement for your platter? if martha has one, they must be out there somewhere!
Chris says: No I haven’t. But that is a great idea.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
This sounds divine although my husband has threatened to leave me if I ever cook with curry. (and I’ve never had it)
BTW, LOVE that measuring cup. Where did you get it?
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Oh, this sounds so good! And the photos turned out great. I think I’ll try it for dinner tomorrow.
Thank you!
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
To the person above who dislikes sweet potatoes….I have a curry recipe that calls for baby red potatoes–it’s delicious. I bet you could substitute reds for the sweet potatoes in this recipe. Or use carrots in place of any kind of potatoes at all. Or cubed peeled butternut squash would be great too (though more work-intensive to prep).
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I put this on the menu for next! thanks
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Ummm maybe I’m a freak but do you cut out all the veins and other yucky crap from the chicken first? WHen I do it , half the chicken is in the trash
Chris says: Ummmm, what kind of chicken are you buying? I do cut off that fatty stuff on the sides, but other than that there is nothing gross to get rid of…
February 24th, 2008 at 2:57 am
We made this tonight. SO wonderful!!! Thanks so much for the crock pot recipes (we’ve made each one of them — thumbs up all around)… keep ‘em coming!
February 24th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
what kind of chicken do you use Chris? mine always wind up in the trash. Also I never used curry before, what is the mildest type?
Chris says: Boneless, skinless chicken breast. I am not sure what you mean by it ends up in the trash? Does it not taste good?
I just bought curry powder in my grocery store. McCormick’s brand.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
How do you think it would do with brown rice?
Chris says: I like brown rice and think it would be okay. However, I think it is better with jasmine or basmati or white since they have less flavor. Does that make sense?
February 24th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Sorry re-read my comment and I sounded like an idiot. I meant like Laura K. after I cut out all the veins and stuff, I find I throw half of the chicken out. I really am not an idiot, just a tired mother.
thanks!
Chris says: Okay, lemme get up and go look at my chicken breasts in the freezer…Okay, the brand is White Gem. That is what I buy when I go to Stop and Shop. But honestly I have never had that problem. Maybe we need a chicken breast trimming tutorial
February 24th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I’ve got this in my crockpot right now, but it looks like we’ll be having non-coconut-rice.
I searched up and down my grocery store for coconut milk and didn’t find it. Which section of your grocery store is it in?
Chris says: It is in the Asian food section.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
[...] Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice [...]
February 25th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Thanks for this! We made it tonight and it was great!
February 25th, 2008 at 3:08 am
Thanks! I will look in the Asian section the next time I’m at the grocery store.
The recipe turned out great, even with plain rice.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I made this yesterday for dinner. Yum! My only complaint is that my hands smelled like curry all day!
I LOVED the coconut rice, and will definitely do that one again. Thank you so much for sharing.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
[...] dinner on Sunday I made this Chicken curry with sweet potatoes and coconut rice. There’s pictures on that link, and the [...]
February 25th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I made this over the weekend and it was fantastic. The husband is an Indian food fanatic and gobbled it up. More recipes please!
February 25th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I’m still learning how to cook, I have never done the crock pot thing. In reading simple recipes like this, I just might go out and buy a new crock pot! Lastly, please know–I really appreciate the visuals! Reading recipes can be confusing. It is like a ‘hands on’ learning experience. Thanks!
February 25th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Tried this Sunday–loved it! We didn’t have potatoes in the house, but I added extra peas and carrots. (Did you have peas and carrots in yours??) It came out great!
Even one of my toddlers ate it (she’s my adventurous eater–likes Hummus and other strong flavors.)
Thank you!
February 26th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I made this yesterday, turnedc out great! I used boneless skinless thighs since they are already in smaller pieces and cheaper on the whole (darker meat, but very tasty).
I opted for the ‘light’ coconut milk, and looking back should have gone for the straight up regular. I checked the ingredients and there wasn’t anything odd in there to substitute the fat, I think it was just more watered down and less coconutty-tasting.
Since I had 4 ounces of milk left (used 1 cup in the rice), I made pina coladas to go with the dinner. Again, not as coconutty as usual, but still tasty and less wasteful than tossing the lonely leftover 4 oz.
February 27th, 2008 at 1:38 am
that looks great, chris! going to try it this week!
February 27th, 2008 at 3:15 am
How would you modify this recipe to be cooked if you did not have a crockpot??
Chris says: DO you have a dutch oven? Otherwise I would put in on low on the stove top.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
wow, I am going to try this this weekend!
February 29th, 2008 at 2:14 am
I made this tonight. Delicious, easy and healthy! Thank you! I’d never had curry before (I know!) so I wasn’t sure whether I’d like it. I think I will add carrots next time. Keep the crock pot recipes coming!
March 1st, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I decided to make this today. I love Curry so this is awesome and love the coconut milk to make the rice. I can not wait to have it for dinner.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I’ve got this in the crockpot right now and it smells fantastic.
Thanks for sharing!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I made this over the weekend and it was really good…i actually just ate is as a meal w/o the rice. My family is from the Caribbean and I’m used to a strong tasting curry so I worried that it might not be spicy enough for me but it turned out really good…the orange juice must be the trick…and my husband (who is not Caribbean) absolutely loved it…this will be another regular in my home…i now find myself checking your blog daily to see what new recipe you posted so i can try it!
Chris says: Thanks, nadia!
March 6th, 2008 at 6:10 am
I made this last week, and loved it! I wish I could say the same for my family… They aren’t big curry or sweet potato fans, so maybe their lukewarm response counts as loving it, too. I didn’t mind that they didn’t love it, since that meant more leftovers for me!
March 6th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Two successful weeknight recipes…
Chicken Curry with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac We’ve had some good successes lately, so I wanted to share. First up is the dish you see here to the right. It is a riff off of a…
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:01 am
I will love you forever for teaching me how to make coconut rice. By the second time, I was making it with no water at all — just co. milk. And lite coconut milk, at that! It was so very delicious. You rule.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
[...] dished up dinner earlyish (Chris’ most excellent chicken curry with sweet potatoes and coconut rice, which if you have not tried you must go make RIGHT NOW because it is THAT GOOD) and the children [...]
April 12th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
[...] 12, 2008 Filed under: Food and Cooking, Home, Kids — jtdarby @ 12:50 pm I’m making this for [...]
April 12th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
[...] Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice - Annotated [...]
April 16th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
[...] new Quick Tips > Work It, Mom! Home > Blogs > Ordering Disorder Popular Posts In the Crockpot: Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice 57 comments Hummus: Quick and Easy 37 comments A Little Bit of Heaven: Mini Meatloaf [...]
April 17th, 2008 at 11:34 am
I LOVED it! And so did my husband. He gave it a 10/10. Thanks! I’m posting about it on my blog today:
http://dreamingsymbols.blogspot.com
April 19th, 2008 at 4:22 am
I made this tonight–it smelled wonderful and is super easy. I would recommend a couple of changes–sauteeing the onions would be well worth the time (adding them uncooked results in kind of a bitter and overly strong taste, and I’m not sure that keeping them quartered rather than diced would have helped–it’s just one of those things about cooking unsauteed onions in liquid); I added a tablespoon of sugar towards the end of the cooking time, because I like curry to have a slightly sweet taste; and adding a couple of heaping teaspoons of yellow curry paste towards the end of cooking (by scooping up some broth, stirring it into the paste to make it dissolve, and pouring it back in) gave the dish a really nice flavor and made it smell and taste like a little bit of heaven. I added a splash of coconut milk to the crockpot to make the broth more opaque, not so much for flavor as for a more traditional Thai appearance.
In fact, if I hadn’t had coconut milk for the rice, this would have been fine–I didn’t really notice any improvement in taste, although I also noticed that the milk I bought didn’t have a very strong coconut smell and maybe a different brand would have made a bigger difference. Anyway, although I made a number of tweaks to the recipe, none of them were major and I’m sure it would be yummy without them–but with them, wow! Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!
Chris says: Thank-you for your thoughtful comments.
April 19th, 2008 at 4:25 am
Small addition–I did use full-fat coconut milk, and I did stir it, so that wasn’t the problem. I think maybe it was the brand of milk I used (orange label, forget the name) because when I opened the can it just didn’t have the nice coconuty aroma I was expecting.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:26 am
[...] serving. A painless way to reduce the amount of meat you eat is by making ethnic foods like Indian-style curries or veggie-intensive [...]
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
[...] my family has two favorite meals now thanks to my friends inside the computer: Chris’ chicken curry with sweet potatoes and coconut rice, and Stephanie’s coconut beef (which I stretch with the addition of green peppers and yellow [...]
September 15th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
…months and months later, you’re still getting leverage from this recipe: I’m trying it tonight. I’ve been assured that even my picky husband who doesn’t like curry, will like this.
I can’t wait, of course: I love curry!
September 17th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Any way I can do this recipe that includes cooking the rice in the crock pot with everything else? We are remodeling our kitchen and boiling water on a hotplate is really time-consuming. (Well, at least it is on the cheap hotplate I bought.)
Chris says: No, you really can’t becauseit will absorb too much water. Maybe get a rice cooker? I have been wanting to buy one of those for a long time.
September 18th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I was thinking maybe it could be added partway through . . . but I’m a clueless cook and have no clue what the timing would be. What I need is my kitchen back (there are about 8 guys in there right now; it’s like a little construction party!). Thanks anyway. My rice has microwave directions, so I might try that.
September 20th, 2008 at 5:25 am
[...] Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes & Coconut Rice [...]
September 26th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I think I will try this dish for a dinner I’m making on Monday. I know this is a crock pot recipe, but can I make it then put it in a dish and warm it up in the oven?
Also, did you stir this at anytime or just left it alone for the whole 5 hours?
Chris says: You mean reheat it in the oven? Or cook it in the oven?And yes I pretty much leave it alone for the entire cooking time. When you open the lid of your crockpot you let out too much heat and it takes a long time for the crockpot to recover.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Came across this recipe a couple of hours ago and now my crockpot is filled with the ingredients. I can’t wait for dinner….and I am definitely inviting a couple of friends over to indulge.
October 14th, 2008 at 2:50 am
i ended up marinating this over night all set up and ready to go in the crockpot, but forgot to take it out of the fridge! hastily set things up a la roasted lemon chicken with green beans and potatoes — roasted everything but the chicken at 425 or so for 30 mins, then popped the chicken on top, and back in the oven for 15-20 mins.
also added sauteed onions, golden raisins, and cashews to the coconut rice, because i’m always looking for ways to yummy up my rice