Mango Chutney Chicken Curry

6 chicken breast halves

1/2 onion, thinly sliced or chopped

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 jar (9-10 ounces) mango chutney

1 cup fresh snap pea pods, strings removed

Combine chicken, onion and red pepper in 3 quart crockpot. In small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of water, cornstarch, curry powder, salt, pepper and chutney; pour into cooker and mix with chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. Increase heat setting to high and stir in pea pods. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes longer until pea pods are crisp-tender. Meanwhile, cook rice as directed on package. Serve chicken over rice.

I used some red and orange pepper in this because I wanted to use them up. It was great. You should add more curry powder if you like it spicy. I like it with only a hint of spice- so this was just the right amount for me.

Everyone loved this dish- even the kids. WOW. Enjoy!

Chicken with Italian Sausage

10 to 16 ounces mild or hot Italian sausage
6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can red beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp dried parsley

Brown sausage, stirring to break up meat. Drain fat and put into 3-4 quart crockpot. Saute onions for 5 minutes or so to soften. Put onions, raw chicken, drained and rinsed beans, broth and spices into the crock pot. Cook 6 hours on low.

I cooked this with Jimmy Dean ground Italian Sausage. It was pretty good. We were all sick with a cold today, so it was great to have the wonderful smell around the house during the day. The spiced sausage flavors this dish, so you could try this with different kinds of sausage and wind up with different results.

I doubled this recipe and froze half in a big ziplock. I'll have to update and tell how it turns out after freezing.

My favorite crockpot cookbooks...

A friend recently asked what my favorite crockpot cookbook was. I really like cookbooks- BUT they need to have PICTURES. Otherwise, they don't inspire me enough... I want a picture for every recipe, or almost every recipe... These two fit the bill.

Cooking Light Slow Cooker

So-Easy Slow Cooker (Better Homes & Gardens)

I have made many recipes out of each and really enjoy both of these cookbooks!

Black Bean Soup

3 cans of black beans (undrained/ unrinsed)
1 can of Italian diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 cups of chicken broth
2 tbsp taco seasoning
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (or whatever vegetables you need to use up)

Chop up vegetables with a food processor or blender. Combine vegetables with rest of ingredients in 3 quart crock pot. Stir. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6. Longer on a lower setting is better.

Before serving, put soup in blender, then back in the crock pot. Be careful, it is hot. Don't fill your blender too full like I did or else you will have hot soup spattering out the edges when you turn it on. Not fun. And yes, I did use a lid on my blender, but I filled it too full and hot soup came out the edges. Yikes.

This soup was very good- but I recommend Beano if beans bother your tummy. This is a lot, a lot of beans.

Mint Brownies in a Mug

I saw this recipe on A Year of Crockpotting and I just had to make it. I was kind of obsessed with it. I had to get it out of my system.

Here's the details: Buy some mint brownie mix. It was on sale at Safeway for about a $1.69- what a bargain. Make it up, pour it into mugs (however many can fit into your largest crockpot). My Hamilton Beach 6-qt. fit 5 mugs o' brownie. Bake on high for 2-3 hours. Mine took 3 hours. The mugs are going to be really hot- turn off the crock pot, take off the lid and cool for a long time. Serve warm mugs of brownie with ice cream. Yummmmm.

My kids were EX-CIT-ED about these. I made them try my black bean soup in order to have one. They ate only one bite of the soup- they hated it, but they tried it. What a tough mean mom I am.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped onion
1½ tbsp taco seasoning
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp molasses
1 tsp dry mustard
1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
¾ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 2-pound boneless pork loin roast (or shoulder)
8 hamburger buns

This one is from one of my favorite cookbooks- Cooking Light Superfast Suppers: Speedy Solutions for Dinner Dilemmas
Everything is always good.

I often double this recipe. Use a 3 quart crock pot for this recipe and a 5 or 6 quart for a double recipe. I made this for my family when we were staying in the Steven’s Pass area for the weekend. I even forgot the Worcestershire and it was still good. I just used a little extra cider vinegar and molasses to make up for it.

Cut the pork into 4 pieces (8 if you double the recipe). Combine meat and all ingredients in the crock pot. Stir with a large spoon until mixed and meat is coated. Cook on high heat for one hour and then reduce to low for 7 hours. If your crock pot runs hot or the meat seems like it is drying out, add a little water. Remove pork and shred with 2 forks on a cutting board or plate. Return the shredded pork to the crock pot and stir well to coat with sauce.

Serve on buns. A little coleslaw on the bun is yummy. I learned that from Greg at BI BBQ. I am sure that nothing I make is as good as the food at BI BBQ. We love it there.

Neal's Pork Spareribs

4 1/2 pounds boneless spare ribs
1 onion
1 lemon

Cut up the ribs into 4-5 rib segments and place on a baking pan. Then sprinkle with chopped onions and squeeze ½ lemon over pork ribs. Cook for 30 minutes at 450.

Put ribs in crockpot and top with following sauce. Neal used another recipe and made up this sauce- it was good!

1/3 cup vinegar
2/3 cup ketchup
1 cup orange juice
2/3 cup water
6 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp molasses
½ lemon squeezed into sauce

Mix together all ingredients. Make up the night before- turn on crockpot on low in morning and cook for 7-9 hours. The meat will be falling off the bones after 9 hours, so cook for less time if you don’t like that. I would also recommend buying a lower fat set of ribs. These were a little fatty and I don't like that very much.