Indian Spiced Lentils with Chicken
serves 6
The Ingredients
1½ cups prepared enchilada sauce (read labels carefully if avoiding gluten)
2 (14.5-ounce) cans tomatoes with seasoning (your choice: I had garlic and olive oil on hand)
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto or kidney beans with juice (or 1 cup dry pinto beans, soaked overnight)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, diced, or 1 tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1½ pounds chicken (thighs, legs, breasts—your choice)
shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for serving (optional)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the enchilada sauce and tomatoes into the bottom of the removable stoneware insert. Add the beans, celery, onion, and spices, and stir to combine. Place the chicken on top.
Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the flavors have combined. If you are using dry beans, you may need to cook longer to fully soften the beans. If your chicken has bones, fish the bones out before serving. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream, if desired.
The Verdict
Oh, I LOVED this chili! And I loved it even more that Adam and the kids loved it, and that the baby doesn’t seem to mind when I eat beans. I made an afternoon snack of nachos with some of the leftovers. Divine. This is such a fun twist on traditional chili, and I absolutely adored every last drop. There is definitely a bit of heat in the sauce—if your family doesn’t like much heat, start with 1 teaspoon chili powder. You can always add more later. Like many soups, stews, and chilis, the leftovers are even better than the original!
INDIAN SPICED LENTILS WITH CHICKEN
serves 4
The Ingredients
2 cups brown lentils
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon turmeric
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley (or ¼ cup finely chopped fresh)
1 (4-ounce) can diced chiles (hot or mild, your choice)–no need to drain
2 large boneless chicken breast halves
basmati rice, corn tortillas, or naan wedges for serving
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Rinse the lentils under cold water until it runs clear. Dump into your slow cooker. Add the broth, water, onion, and celery. Add all the spices, the garlic, parsley, and chiles. Stir to combine.
Lay 2 large-ish chicken breast halves on top of the assembled food. My breast halves were frozen solid when I put them in.
Cover and cook on low for about 7 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. Before serving, chop the chicken into bite-size pieces, and stir back in. Serve over basmati rice with corn tortillas or naan wedges (these are not gluten-free) as scoopers.
The Verdict
I started this recipe thinking I’d get a soup, but I didn’t. Instead I got a superbly spiced lentil dish that the whole family enjoyed. Adam added a bit of spice to his with some red chile flakes, but I abstained because I was worried about getting pregnancy heartburn. I heated the leftovers up for lunch, and my almost-five-year-old and her friend happily ate them.
serves 6
The Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
1 (14-ounce) jar pizza sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
25 pepperoni pieces
1 cup water
shredded mozzarella cheese for serving (optional, although not optional in our house!)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Brown the beef in a large skillet on the stovetop until it is no longer pink, and drain well. Scrape the meat into slow cooker insert. Add the beans, pizza sauce, and tomatoes. Add the diced bell pepper, then stir in the Italian seasoning and pepperoni (I didn’t chop the pepperoni, but you can if you’d prefer smaller pieces). Pour in the water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. Your chili is done when the green peppers have softened completely and the flavors have melded. Serve with a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese, if desired.
The Verdict
Liquid pizza: Life couldn’t get any better. If you’re watching your carb intake, this will satisfy every one of your pizza cravings without a drop of guilt.
serves 12
The Ingredients
2 pounds kielbasa sausage, sliced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 (16-ounce) can baked beans
1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 tart apple, peeled and shredded
½ cup ketchup
½ cup molasses
shredded sharp cheddar cheese as garnish (optional)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the sliced kielbasa into the slow cooker. Top with the onion and all the beans. Add the pineapple chunks and shredded apple. Stir in the ketchup and molasses. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.
The Verdict
This is an excellent take-along to a potluck event. It serves an awful lot of people, and is both sweet and savory—a winning combination. I shared containers of this with my whole family, and my grandma reported back that leftovers freeze and reheat quite well.
serves 8
The Ingredients
2 cups lentils
1 large onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce
1½ teaspoons prepared mustard (and more to taste, after cooking)
2 (12-ounce) cans tomato paste
4 empty tomato paste cans water
8 hamburger buns (or rice cakes, or serve over rice)
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Sort the lentils and rinse in hot water. Dump into the slow cooker. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Add the spices, soy sauce, and mustard. Add the contents of the tomato paste cans, then add 4 cans of water. Stir to combine the ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the lentils have softened nicely. Stir well and taste. If desired, squeeze in a bit more mustard. Serve on hamburger buns, rice cakes, or over brown or white rice.
The Verdict
I really liked this play on traditional Sloppy Joes! This recipe came from one of my readers, Trish, who makes it often for her family. Lentils are full of fiber, and are an easy bean to cook in the slow cooker—no soaking required.
serves 6
The Ingredients
1 pound smoked sausage, casings removed, crumbled
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 brown potatoes, diced (no need to peel)
½ cup dry lima beans (no need to presoak lima beans)
1 tablespoon A-1® sauce (the secret ingredient!)
4 cups beef broth
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Remove casings from sausage, and put into slow cooker. Add the vegetables and lima beans. Pour in the A-1® sauce and beef broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until the beans and carrot have reached the desired tenderness.
The Verdict
The flavor from this stew comes directly from the sausage and a bit of tang from the A-1 sauce. If you use spicy sausage, you’ll end up with a spicy stew. The beans grow quite a lot while cooking—using ½ cup is plenty.