When I  moved to Orange County after college, my aunt lived around the corner from me.   I wasn’t married yet and I was working full time, so she was sweet enough to have me over for dinner every Thursday.  It was the first time I had ever lived away from home so it was really comforting to have her there and to have dinner with her and her family every week.  After some time I realized that she made everything from stew to pasta in the crockpot!  I had never used a crockpot and other than keeping things heated for parties, my mom never used hers either so I was amazed.

She taught me a few tricks of the trade like how the liquid doesn’t evaporate like it would on the stove and things like that.  When I got married my crockpot was a must on the wedding registry!  It is the best thing ever!  Back then I would let stuff cook all night or get it ready in the morning before I left for work.  Now, I can prep dinner in the morning and come home to a cooked meal after an evening of running the kids to soccer, or gymnastics, or whatever it is we’re doing.  Last night we had shredded bbg chicken sandwiches.  Well, most of us did.  I had my chicken on a bed of smashed cauliflower with a coleslaw style lettuce salad on top.  Yummy!  I have been meaning to get this recipe on the site because it is just too awesome not to!  It is one of the simplest recipes plus your crockpot does the cooking while you’re out and about taking care of business.

I started making this after eating something similar at my friend’s place.  She had chicken simmering in the crockpot for hours while we had coffee and the kids played.  She served it with tasty sides like bread rolls, baked beans, and coleslaw.  Most of the kids and the adults made sandwiches and customized it to their own taste.  I had mine like a salad and everyone was happy.  When I make it at home I usually put it on top of some coleslaw in a very light mayonnaise and vinegar dressing.  BBQ chicken is really good with coleslaw for some reason!  They taste great together.

I never actually asked her for the recipe, but I make my crockpot chicken tacos all the time so I figured these would need around the same cooking time and amount of liquid.  I have used paleo bbq sauce and the all natural bbq sauce from Trader Joe’s.  The flavor was great with either one, so use whatever makes you happy.  Every family has their own taste, so what works for one may not suit the other’s preferences.  We don’t really eat baked beans and the hubs and I try not to eat bread at dinner time so I make sandwiches for the kids with the shredded bbq chicken, coleslaw, and some cheese.  That way us adults get a filling paleo style meal that we totally enjoy!  It’s a win/win and everyone is happy.

*Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic

1 onion, sliced

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup water

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

Method

Plug in your crockpot and set it to a low setting.  My crockpot isn’t fancy so there is a High setting and a Low setting.  I set it to low for this recipe.  Mix the BBQ sauce, water, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Put the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot, then pour the BBQ Sauce mixture on top.  Place the lid on your crockpot and allow everything to cook for at least 5 hours.

You can leave it on longer if you need to or if you want to cook it in less time just turn the dial on the crockpot to high and cook for 3 hours.  That will work too!  When the time comes, take a wooden spoon or a cooking utensil that won’t scratch up your crockpot and shred up the ingredients in the pot.  This shouldn’t take long since everything will be falling apart by this point.  Make shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches or serve it with sides, whatever works at your house!

At our last place there was a Thai restaurant right down the street that had the best Green Curry.  It was incredibly convenient because they delivered and if we had last minute guests we would just order and have it delivered to the house. The girls loved their chicken satay and the hubs and I would order the green curry at least a couple of times a month.  It was such a great take-out spot for those lazy Friday nights.  Since we moved two years ago, I haven’t been able to find a Thai place that we really like so I started making Thai Curry at home whenever I get a craving for it.

There are several types of Thai curry, but the one I like the most is the green curry.  Thai basil and chilies give the curry its green color and fabulous flavor.  Luckily with a little help from some green curry paste I’ve been able to recreate that awesome flavor at home.  Thai curry is also dairy free, which makes it paleo friendly as well.  It would still be nice to find a good Thai restaurant around here, but when I make it I can put whatever I want in it!

This time I went with mushrooms, but I’ve made Thai basil curry with bamboo shoots or bell peppers, eggplant tastes delicious in it too!  If you prefer a vegan meal, just leave out the chicken.  It’s amazing either way, and can all be prepared in one skillet. I have been leaning toward the paleo lifestyle these days so I served it on my current fave cauliflower rice, but white or brown rice are both wonderful additions.  I’ve had it solo before too, but I just love having something in my bowl that soaks up all that yummy curry sauce!

Oh that reminds me, the chicken in this dish is cut into thin slices.  The easiest way to get your chicken cut very thin is to slice it when it’s frozen.  I let the chicken thaw about 10 minutes, then I slice it.  That way you don’t have to break your arm trying to cut through it when it’s frozen solid!

Ingredients

*Serves 2 to 3 people

1 chicken breast half, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed or diced

2 cups sliced mushrooms (or other vegetable of choice)

1/2 of a Thai chili, sliced

7 oz full fat coconut cream

1 Tbs Green Curry Paste (I use Thai Kitchen paste, since it’s GF)

1 cup Thai basil

1/2 lime, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

cooking oil

Method

Heat 1 tsp cooking oil in a large pan.  Place sliced chicken in pan and cook until both sides are slightly golden.  Add the garlic, Thai chili slices, and mushrooms to the pan and cook on medium/low heat stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and add in the coconut cream, green curry paste, Thai basil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.  Stir it well and let simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.  If the cream thickens a little, just add some room temperature water, a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Its funny how cooking is sometimes like a science experiment.  You add a little bit of this and a little of that, then wait to see if its amazing or blows up in your face.  There were many experiments that took place in our kitchen before I got a handle on the spices and ingredients that I now use on a daily basis.  We live in such an international world though, that I’m always finding new and unfamiliar ingredients that I want to play with and the experiments begin again.  I never thought food would be my thing, but it is.  I love happy faces after a good meal, I love cooking and eating with my family and friends, and I love making something new and wonderful!

In this case, the new and wonderful something is these Tangy Chicken Tacos.  I was given a recipe for Thai Lettuce Wraps a couple months ago, and a few of the ingredients were not gluten free.  One of those ingredients is plum sauce.  The idea of a tart sauce just sounded really tasty, so I was trying to create a bit of tang in this version as well.  I mixed red wine vinegar and tamari, not sure what the flavor would turn out like, but it was exactly what I was aiming for!  Just goes to show that you never know until you try.

In an effort to get some extra veggies into the meal, I added broccoli and mushrooms, and served them in a romaine lettuce shell.  They are ready in jiffy, which is a must for me.  If a meal takes longer than 45 minutes, it is not happening in my kitchen during the week!  I dice everything so it cooks a little quicker, and the hubby almost didn’t notice all the broccoli.  He’s not really a broccoli fan.  Oh well!  How can you not like broccoli?!?  I’ve made them about three times since and they’ve become a quick favorite.

Ingredients

1 tsp cooking oil

3 chicken breast halves, diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup chopped mushrooms

3 Tbs Tamari

2 1/2 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

2 Tbs water

Method

Heat oil in a large pan and add diced chicken.  Cook on medium heat until chicken is golden.  Add the garlic, chopped broccoli, and mushrooms.  Stir in the red wine Tamari, red wine vinegar, basil, dried chillis, and water.  Simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.

Scoop some into your lettuce shells, and your one skillet meal is complete!

Along the Arabian Sea, to the South of Maharashtra, you’ll find India’s smallest state; Goa.  Goa is a tropical paradise known for its variety of fish and rich cuisine.  There is an abundance of coconut trees in Goa, so coconuts and coconut oil are used in many dishes along with an array of spices.

I have yet to visit this wonderful place, but I adore fish curry and Goa is famous for theirs!   Goan fish curry is usually served on rice, and there are two kinds.  One type of fish curry has a tomato base and the other is made with coconut cream.  I haven’t been eating much rice lately, so I wanted something I could have almost as a stew.  Coconut cream sounded just dreamy, so I thought I’d give it a shot!

I decided to go with a milder fish so it would take on the flavor of all the spices a little better.  Some Asian super markets carry fish of the Indian variety, but I picked up some Tillapia from Wholefoods this time.  I Had to keep tasting it to make sure I had all the flavors right, since I had never made Goan fish curry before.  Thankfully my in-laws were there to help judge the taste!  After some constructive criticism and some added ingredients, it was approved!

The most challenging part of Indian cooking for me has always been perfectly balancing the flavors.  Some dishes require 8 or more different spices, and with so much happening in a dish it can be a struggle to keep one flavor from overpowering the others.  Over the years I’ve gotten the hang of it, but it took some serious trial and error!  Especially since when I first started making Indian food, I had no idea what some recipes were supposed to turn out like.  Now I can honestly say that this is a well balanced, packed with amazing spices, rich Goan fish curry!

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 Tilapia fillets

2 tsp turmeric powder

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp cayenne powder

1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1 1/2 cups coconut cream

1/2 cup water

sea salt to taste

cooking oil

Method

Rinse the Tilapia and pat dry with a paper towel to remove moisture.  Then rub the Tilapia with the turmeric powder and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

While the fish is in the fridge, you can prep the curry.  Heat  about 1 tsp oil in a large saucepan at medium/high heat.  Add the garlic and onions and saute until they start to brown.  Next throw in the ginger, mustard seeds, garam masala, cumin, and cayenne.  Stir well and reduce to low heat to let the flavors get to know each other for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the coconut cream, water, vinegar and salt to taste.  Stir and let the curry simmer for about 10 minutes.  If your saucepan has a lid, you can place the lid on the pan while it simmers.

While the curry is sitting on low heat, heat 1/2 Tbs oil in a large pan on medium heat.  Usually the fish in Goan fish curry is deep fried.  I wanted to cut the oil, so this fish is lightly fried.  Add the fish to the pan and fry for about 4 minutes on each side or until each side is cooked.  Remove from heat and add the fish to the curry in the saucepan.  Cook for an additional 15 minutes and serve over rice, quinoa, or serve it in a bowl like a soup.  That’s how I had mine and it tasted like paradise to me!