Freezer and Slow Cooker Friendly! Healthier version of Indian Butterchicken.

Hi guys! 

Are you ready for some more freezer meal ideas?

In my last blog post I had made mention of my Indian Butter Chicken Recipe as part of my freezer meal stash. It's one of my favorites. Easy to make, easy to freeze, delicious to eat. So I'm sharing!

This recipe is dairy free, using coconut milk instead of heavy cream, and simple enough to add veggies. I added sweet potatoes to the last batch I froze. Besides the taste, I love this recipe because it is so easy to throw together in the morning and slow cook all day. It also freezes well so you can toss all the ingredients in a freezer bag or container and you have a meal ready to throw into the slow cooker without prepping freezer meals all day. You can also control the heat. The more spices you add, the richer the spice and flavor. You can back it off some by just putting enough to get the flavor in there. Either way it is simple and inexpensive. The only thing that can get pricey is buying the spices if you don't have them already. I always have these particular spices on hand because I use them so much. Walmart has a good deal on their organic brand of spices.

I usually use boneless skinless chicken thighs but this last time I used boneless skinless breasts. Whether you are dumping this recipe into the slow cooker, or dumping it into a freezer bag, it is just everything all together...dump it.

You can make this recipe smaller or double it. Once I had made some in the slow cooker, not previously frozen, and ended up with a ton of the sauce left over so once it was cooled, I poured it into a freezer bag and added more frozen chicken. Then I had a whole meal in the freezer for another night.

Let's get started!

1.5 lbs Chicken Thighs or Breasts, tenderloins are good too (boneless and skinless)

1 can of Coconut Milk

1 can of Tomato Sauce

3 T Garam Masala

1 T Curry Powder

2 t Corriander

1 t Turmeric

1/2  t Cinnamon

Salt and Pepper to taste

(Remember, I don't measure my spices, so this is my estimate. Don't be scared to play around and add more or less. I just take a sniff of mine and test out a finger dip to see if it is where I like it)

Pot of rice to serve over

Use organic if you can!

Place chicken in your slow cooker. About half of the typical 2.5-3 lb bag from the grocery store. 

In a large bowl, stir together cans of coconut milk and tomato sauce.

Add all spices and mix together gently.

Pour mixture over chicken and cook on low for 8 hours.

Chicken will pull apart easily with a fork when done. Serve chunks of chicken and your sauce over basmati rice (or any other rice). Sweet potatoes and squash would be a great addition to this, or even broccoli and potatoes. 

You can make big batches to feed company or smaller batches if you are a smaller family. I would suggest to just double the recipe. You can use the whole bag of chicken and you just need an extra can of coconut milk and tomato sauce plus the extra spices. You will be happy you did when you freeze one and have dinner ready for a busy day next week. I love that you can freeze it after cooking or before and it is faithfully there waiting for you on a busy or just lazy weeknight.

Look at these gorgeous left overs! Tender chicken, beautifully rich sauce.

Simple, delicious, dairy free.

Let me know if you try it!

Quick and Easy Lemon-Ginger Turkey Quesadillas

Hello!

I'm trying to change up the seasoning on dinner meats. We LOVE Mexican food so I often season everything with cumin and chili powder. Over the weekend I made a fabulous pork roast that I will have to share with you next week, it was perfect for nachos, quesadillas, tacos, whatever.

Anyway, since it turned out so great with the crushed ginger I used, which I will be raving about in a future paragraph, I tried changing up my seasoning for tonight's ground turkey that I made quesadillas with.

I had found this frozen ground ginger on sale at Walmart for $1.00 a while back. 

On Sunday I thought, what the heck, let's throw it in the crock pot with the pork shoulder I planned on shredding. OMG! It was the perfect addition to the flavor!

Again, I'll share that with you next week as I plan on making another one.

This time I ditched the beloved cumin and chili powder and I browned the ground turkey with a zesty lemon seasoning (not the best health-wise, it has the can't be trusted "natural flavor" as an ingredient, but I have it and I used it), 2 ginger cubes, and half a lemon squeezed onto the browning meat.

These raw tortillas are a big hit in our home. They brown in just minutes and taste much more homemade than any store bought tortilla. They are also delicious with coconut oil and cinnamon-sugar! 😍)

Just a few ingredients and dinner is served. You can serve with a side dish but we were keeping it simple tonight and just had the quesadillas. Except for the girl, she isn't down with cheese so I made her a bean burrito. 

I heat one side just enough, turn it, and add the meat and cheese, fold, and flip.

Done!

The lemon flavor had just the right tang and change to be delicious. The ginger acted like a best friend and complimented the lemon just right.

Let me know if you try it!

Enjoy!

Recipe Share - Portobello Spinach Enchiladas (Freezer Meal Friendly)

These enchiladas happened spontaneously a few weeks ago when I needed to use some left over crockpot chicken. 

I decided to make chicken enchiladas and freeze them for another night. 

I also had a ton of baby portobellos that needed to be used ASAP. There are only two veggie lovers in our house so I made one tray of chicken enchiladas and one tray of veggie enchiladas to freeze.

I used whatever I had on hand. I was skeptical about how they would turn out, but was pleasantly surprised this evening when I thawed and baked them for dinner tonight.

Here's what I used:

1 package of Baby Portobellos

Corn Tortillas 

1 can organic Black Beans

1 small can Green Chilis 

1/2 Red Onion

3 handfuls of Spinach

Cumin

Chili Powder

Smoked Paprika

Garlic powder

I probably used some turmeric 

2 small cans of Hot Enchilada Sauce

Garlic Olive Oil

I think those are all the spices I used 😳 It has been a few weeks now, I hope I'm remembering them all.

1. Start off by tossing the mushrooms with oil and garlic powder and placing them on a baking sheet.  I used garlic olive oil. I baked them at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. While they are roasting, cut your red onion into whatever size you prefer and drain and rinse your beans.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mushrooms, onion, black beans, spinach, Chilis, and seasoning. I don't measure with seasonings, so don't be shy, sprinkle it on, taste it, and add some more if you like. 

3. I try to avoid the microwave when possible, but I typically wrap the tortillas in a damp towel and nuke them for a minute or more so that they are soft and bendy for rolling. While the tortillas are getting bendy 😊, pour enough sauce in your baking dish (or disposable freezer tray) to cover the bottom of the dish/tray. 

4. Spoon about 2 large spoonfuls of the mixture into each tortilla and roll. Place each roll in the sauce covered pan. Once you pan is full, pour remaining sauce over the top to wet each enchilada.

If you are not going to freeze, add cheese and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

If you are going to freeze, I suggest adding the cheese when you are ready to cook, only because you may want to put them in before they are fully thawed, and you don't want your cheese getting too crispy.

I thawed mine by setting them on the counter for a majority of the day. Easy dinner night!

I served it with rice and I'll be sharing the left overs with a few friends for lunch tomorrow.

What's your go-to freezer meal?

-Caffeinated and Freckled