Slow Cooker Chicken Korma

O-M-G, you guys. Seriously .  We ate this so fast that there wasn’t time for any other pictures …sadly, this was the only photo I could snap; it’s of the leftovers being packed for my son’s lunch. That kid is lucky I like him so much !!


I’ve made no secret of my love of Cooking Light recipes over the years; I’ve adapted many of them, and made many more just as they read (or with very slight tweaks.)  I think the reason they usually work so well is that they’re not “light” recipes; they’re real, honest to goodness recipes that use real ingredients and tested, normal cooking methods. They’re lightened up just enough to fit into a healthy lifestyle, but not so much as to be rendered flavorless. (No, they’re not paying me to say any of this…I wish !)

Korma, if you’re not familiar with it, is an Indian dish of Mughal extraction that is basically a type of curry; it’s an excellent gateway drug for people that don’t think they like Indian food….creamy, silky, warm and comforting.  It’s very easy for this dish to go off the rails calorie-wise; traditional recipes usually call for the chicken to be sautéed in butter, and for full-fat yogurt to be stirred in at the end. Nuts and/or cheese are added to some recipes as well, just adding to the calorie load (and overall deliciousness, I’m sure !). The good news is that korma also adapts itself extremely well to slightly lighter ingredients; between the spice level and all the time getting happy in the crockpot the finished product is so flavorful and tender you’ll never realize there could be more fat in it. 

I did tweak this recipe very slightly, of course…this is me we’re talking about, after all J (link to the original recipe is provided below). The biggest change I made was to up the amount of curry powder as well as use a spicier version; my now-extensive experience with the crockpot has taught me that flavors can really get muted after spending all day under low heat. If you are spice-adverse by all means use a milder curry powder and/or cut down on the amount of chili paste…not looking to kill anyone with fire here. (Conversely, if you love the heat then pump that @#%& up !) . I swapped in sambal oelek because I absolutely love the stuff, but crushed red pepper would work just fine; these can also be added to each individual bowl at the discretion of the diner, if you’re cooking for a mixed crowd. 

The other important change I’ve made here concerns the yogurt. The original recipe calls for fat-free yogurt and did not specify Greek style, but I really think a thicker yogurt is called for…plus, let’s just be frank :  I am not a fan of the aftertaste of fat free yogurt (when they take something out, they put something in…and whatever it is, I don’t like it). The difference in calories and fat (and WW points) between half a cup of 2% and half a cup of 0% is negligible, particularly when spread out over eight servings; the results are so much better with the creamier yogurt that it’s well worth making the swap. I’ve also included a step for “tempering” the yogurt, which simply means bringing up the temperature slowly before adding it to the final dish. This easy, quick step will prevent the yogurt from curdling when you add it; there’s nothing wrong with curdled yogurt, it just doesn’t look all that great (and you won’t get a smooth, creamy sauce). 

Naan bread (optional) is basically the Indian version of pita bread, but lighter and fluffier; it’s available in many supermarkets (Stonefire is a pretty good brand, easy to find and mighty tasty. No, they don’t’ pay me either J ). This dish already involves rice and potatoes so bread is kind of overkill…but it does make the perfect vehicle to sop up the last bits of the lovely sauce. If you can find it and don’t mind the extra carbs it’s a nice addition; definitely not necessary though. 

We really enjoyed this one…hope you do too ! 


Slow Cooker Chicken Korma

Adapted from Cooking Light : http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-korma

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cups coarsely chopped onion (1 onion)

Pan spray

2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon Madras (or other spicy type) curry powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek chili paste (or crushed red pepper)

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups red potatoes (cut in quarters if large, halved if tiny)

1 teaspoon salt

1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

2 bay leaves

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt (such as Fage)

4 cups hot cooked rice (long grain, jasmine, or basmati work well)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Optional : warmed naan bread (warm according to package directions).

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray lightly with pan spray. Add chicken; sauté 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan; place in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Add onion to skillet; sauté 3 minutes. Add ginger and next 5 ingredients (through garlic); sauté 2 minutes. Pour mixture over chicken in slow cooker. Stir in potato and next 4 ingredients (through cinnamon stick).

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Discard bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Turn slow cooker off; let stand 15 minutes. 
In a small bowl, combine the yogurt with a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid from the crockpot. Once this is combined, stir the yogurt mixture back into the crockpot, and sprinkle with cilantro. 
Serve chicken mixture over rice, with optional warmed naan bread on the side for dipping.

Serves 8; serving size, 1/2 cup of rice and 1 cup korma

Recipe Renovation : Italian-Inspired Vegetable Soup

I know, I know....it's been ages. I have my reasons, though - honest !

About a year and a half ago, I made the very difficult decision to leave a job I loved. Leaving was absolutely heart-wrenching, but I had no choice - it had become imperative that I focus on my family and my health, both mental and physical.  The job, while interesting and exciting and challenging and something I daresay I was pretty good at (and full of people who I loved dearly - still do, in fact) was too demanding, insanely stressful, and just took up way too much of my time...I was working nights and weekends, and even when I wasn't there I was working via my phone or thinking about working or feeling bad that I wasn't working. I couldn't focus on anything else; I quit my chorus, never saw my family, and just focused on getting through each day. So - with plenty of tears and not a small amount of fear - I walked out the door. And somehow, incredibly, against all odds I walked into another job that I love, with new people I adore, exploring a part of my field I hadn't really worked in much that turned out to be really interesting and a great challenge - but something I could definitely do. The new job not only gave me back my nights and weekends, but left me with enough mental energy to enjoy them. My family prospered, my chorus welcomed me back with open arms, and I was living more of the kind of life I had always envisioned for myself. Well, except for one little thing...actually, not so little.

My weight.

When I walked out that door so reluctantly my weight was the highest it has ever been in my life - including when I was pregnant. (Yes, 9 months pregnant me was smaller than new job and newly minted family woman me. ) I have always struggled with my weight; most members of my family are not small, and I'm definitely an emotional eater - and my emotions were in overdrive. Food was my main comfort - something that made me feel better, something I was good at making and talking about, and something I could use to make others around me feel good too. So I walked through another scary door..,,into a Weight Watchers meeting. I had done WW before and knew it worked; it's pretty much the only plan where you can eat absolutely anything as long as you keep track of it all...with my foodie predilections I have to have that flexibility or I can't do it. (No, I am no Oprah and this is not turning into a WW ad...the program has definite issues, especially with the newest revamp...but the basic premise is sound. The thing just works.)

I already knew how to cook and eat healthy...it just that I didn't. I ate (and drank) all the time, like there was never going to be enough to fill me. Occasionally I made good choices, but not consistently enough to matter, I was going to need the accountability of someone weighing me every week...so last April I finally took the plunge and walked in to my local meeting, I  cried hard when I got on the scale because I couldn't believe it really had gotten to that point, and I think I cried through my first few meetings too. But somehow, incredibly, my lucky streak with scary life choices was still with me. The meeting I walked into was not only full of supportive people with the same issues I had, but was led by an absolute dynamo of a woman who has cheered me on every step of the way. Her  no-nonsense take on what the program does and does not do is exactly my cup of (unsweetened) tea. And with her support, I have now lost over 80 pounds, Eighty. It's a ridiculous number, isn't it ? I barely recognize pictures of sad, stressed out me, I'm a new, happy woman - with knees and a back that don't hurt anymore - who has energy to get things done. And one of the things I want to get done is writing in my blog about all the exciting cooking I'm doing, And that, dear readers, is why we're here :)

If you've made it this far (yeah, I do go on :) ) you're probably thinking "Well, no wonder she was approaching maximum density - look at these recipes !! Butter ! Cream ! Cheese ! Pork fat !!" I assure you, I have not given up on any of these lovely things. I just keep track of how much of them I eat....and I don't eat them all the time. (And I definitely haven't quit drinking !)  I plan to keep blogging all the good things we love, as well as the good things that are good for us. Today's recipe is definitely in the latter category.

Each week at WW we get a weekly handout - usually consisting of some sort of pithy "yay us" articles and tips (this week's was all about an app with 1 minute workouts that we can download...of course, it didn't mention that it isn't available for Android. Because apparently screw us if we're not drinking the Apple Kool-Aid...wonder how many points that is ? See, I told you they have issues ! But I digress...). It also usually has a WW recipe...and herein lies the problem. While I cook a lot of Cooking Light recipes (for the most part they are pretty flavorful , filling, and work well with minimum tweaking) , I find most of the WW ones lacking - way too watered down, not enough flavor, too many points for not enough of a serving, This week's actually looked promising, though -a 0 point Italian-ish veggie soup that looked like it would actually work. With me spending most of Valentine's weekend alone I thought I might need the extra points for treats (and sure enough I woke up to caviar and chocolate...mmm !) , so I figured a pot of 0 point soup would fit the bill perfectly...I just had to fix it a little, Lose the fennel (personally can't stand the stuff), add in some other filling 0 point veggies to replace it...eggplant and mushrooms, that would be just the thing, Oh, and cook the onions a little first (really, WW - that's a soup making basic !) , and cook the firmer vegetables a little longer than the greens. Yup - minimal fuss, maximum taste...this stuff is awesome, Excellent flavor, perfect broth to veg ratio, just the thing for the sub-zero weather this weekend.. Eating a bowl while I blog, actually :)

The great thing about a soup like this is that it's so adaptable. As written, it truly is 0 points - meaning you can really eat your fill, as much as you want - and it's actually pretty satisfying just as is. You can definitely change around the vegetables - go ahead and put the fennel bulb in (thinly sliced), add some leeks, use up the green pepper you have hanging around - whatever you like. You can also add pretty much anything as a garnish or mix in and it would work; the bowl in the picture had 2 oz of cubed cooked polenta stirred in at the end (2 points - you can get it ready made in tubes, though we happened to have some made already) and 1 tsp of grated Parmesan sprinkled on top (0 points). Cooked white beans would be outstanding (nothing wrong with canned - 1/4 cup is 2 points), as would your favorite cooked pasta (points vary); adding some fish with the greens or adding cooked chicken or shrimp at the end would turn this into a main course for not a lot of points. Bread would of course be wonderful - just make sure you know what and how much you're eating if you're tracking,

Bottom line : eat what you like; then it isn't a diet, and that's the only way it works (for me, anyway),

So...if you've really really made it this far...thank you for reading, and staying with me, I promise moving forward I won't be quite so...soul-baring; not that there's anything wrong with that, this is just not that kind of blog. Usually :)

Enjoy !

Italian-Inspired Vegetable Soup 
loosely based on "Weight Watchers Weekly" recipe of Jan 24-30

1 cup chopped onion
olive oil spray to lightly coat bottom of pot (or use 2 tsp of olive oil - adds 3 points)
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
couple grinds black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small zucchini or yellow squash )or both), cubed
2 small eggplant, cubed
1 medium red pepper, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp (or to taste) crushed red pepper
2 cups chopped escarole or kale, chopped (packed tightly)
2 cups fresh baby spinach (packed tightly)
28 oz fire roasted chopped tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat; lightly spray with cooking spray. Add onion and cook until it starts to get soft and a little translucent, stirring occasionally - 10 minutes is plenty. Add the salt and pepper after it's been on about 5 minutes,

Add the garlic, zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, mushrooms and stock; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add the thyme, oregano, basil and red pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes; add the escarole and simmer another 5 minutes, then add the spinach and tomatoes. Simmer another 5 or 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are done to your liking, Stir in the parsley and additional salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Swordfish with Tzatziki

This one has a little bit of a backstory, if you'll indulge me...don't worry, it will eventually get there !

Even though I grew up surrounded by fantastic cooks, there were quite a few dishes that I never got around to trying (or appreciating - exhibit a, corned beef) until I met my husband. One of these, surprisingly, was lamb. I'm guessing this was because of some combination of the good stuff being expensive, and the cheap stuff being...not so good (and therefore not something anyone in my family wanted to eat). Whatever the reason, it wasn't until I met Mark that I beheld the wonder that was lamb...specifically, lamb gyros. Fluffy pita bread, filled with deliciously grilled lamb marinated in something I couldn't quite identify...this was takeout food like I'd never seen before. And the sauce...oh, the sauce. Cool, creamy, garlicky goodness. I had no idea what it was, but that didn't stop me from gobbling it up whenever I got the chance.

Fast forward a few years, and I had the good fortune of working down the street from a great little Greek food spot in my own hometown - the Farm Grill . Despite the name, which makes it sound like - well - "farm" food, this is actually a counter-serve Greek restaurant with some seriously delicious food - and, from what my actual Greek friends tell me, the stuff is pretty legit. I remember we used to get our Greek coworker to call whenever we ordered lunch from there, figuring they would be nicer to her...not really known for their warm and fuzzy service, but the food is worth it (even if you don't have an obliging Greek coworker...Effie, I miss you ! ). When you walk in, you immediately see - and smell - the gyro meat, rotating on tall vertical rotisseries. I could write a whole post about Farm Grill, but the important bit for this story is the gyro - for this is where I discovered this delicious sauce was called "tzatziki" At this point I still wasn't quite the crazy foodie I am today, but I was definitely on my way...a little knowledge can be a scary thing !

My next flirtation with tzatziki was in the early days of this blog...well it wasn't actually tzatziki, it was a cucumber raita - the Indian version which is a close cousin (but without the dill and garlic seen above). As noted in that entry, the guys weren't really enamored of it, so I didn't make it again...but I didn't stop thinking about tzatziki.

And then, there was the bluefish.

Earlier this summer, the guys went on a fishing trip for striper...except no one caught any keeper striper. They did, however, catch tons of bluefish - and my guys being enterprising, resourceful boys decided to bring all of it home...not only theirs, but their boatmates as well. Unfortunately, what they didn't know at the time was that you really can't freeze bluefish - bluefish at its best takes a little work to achieve Culinary Orgasm status, but frozen is just no good - it turns into an unappetizing mush. I, however, did know this - and slightly panicked at the sight of 10 pounds of bluefish fillets that had to pretty much be cooked in 24 hours ! Half of it immediately went into brine for smoking (delicious - will try and get that on the blog at some point), some was transformed into Vietnamese Caramel Bluefish that night ( also delicious and in need of some blog love; I based mine on this recipe ) The rest was destined for the grill the next day. I knew it was going to need some sort of sauce, and mustard sauce  - my traditional favorite on blues -  was out as my husband hates that particular combination.(Okay, full disclosure - I did make a little mustard sauce just for me :) ) . The time was ripe for me to get a good tzatziki under my belt...not that I'd ever had it with bluefish before, but I somehow knew that it would be a match made in heaven. And oh man...was it ever !

Bluefish is such a strongly flavored, oily fish that it needs something bright to cut it...and tzatziki is definitely that; lemony, garlicky, herby brightness. That's why it works so well with lamb...but really, it good on all kinds of stuff. Any kind of meat or fish you can think of (burgers ! chicken breast ! the mind boggles)...killer on a baked potato...spread on pita bread...or just eaten with a spoon.  I think the main difference with the version I make now is the yogurt; real Greek yogurt is essential to this dish, the runny American stuff just won't cut it. That, and make sure you use fresh minced garlic; I was out the day I photographed this, so I used the paste...not nearly as good. (How the heck does a foodie run out of garlic ! grrrr...)

Since I don't have pictures of the bluefish dinner, you're getting the next best thing - a simple grilled swordfish that we did tonight. Nothing fancy here, just marinated it in a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and dill; grilled on a super hot fire about 5 - 6 minutes a side. The tzatziki is the real star here - true Culinary Orgasm !

Tzatziki

Fat content on the yogurt is personal preference, but I personally find this work best with 2%.  

1 English cucumber or 2 - 3 mini cucumbers, very finely chopped ( no need to peel unless you prefer; remove seeds if large).          
2 - 4 garlic cloves, minced          
1 cup plain Greek yogurt    
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil    
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste at the end. Let sit about an hour to really let the flavors blend.