Domestic Crock Goddess?

I may be slightly overexcited about this crock pot thing.

While Rhubarb napped in the sling this morning I spent an hour and a half chopping vegetables and organising freezer bags full of ‘ready-meals’ to be chucked in the slow cooker at a pinch.

Pork and Apple Casserole,  Chicken Paprika, and Moroccan Lamb Tagine

But first, today’s meal. Chicken & Chorizo Casserole. A favourite that I usually do on the hob, so it’ll be interesting to see how it compares coming out of the crock pot. I doubled my usual recipe so we’d have some to put in the freezer. I mean, what’s the point in having a 6.5 litre cooking device if you ain’t gonna supersize it, eh?

Ingredients:

600-700g skinless, boneless chicken thighs (you can, of course, use bone-in thighs, it’s just a bit fiddler to remove them when they’re cooked)

100g chorizo (tip: it’s usually cheaper from the deli counter than buying a pack from the cold meat section)

2 onions, chopped finely

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 celery sticks, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 parsnips, chopped

half a butternut squash, cubed

oregano

750ml chicken stock

juice of 1 lemon

2 handfuls (1/2 cup?) bulgar wheat

1 tbsp cornflour

Method:

[I threw it all in raw, but if you like you could brown the meat and onions in a pan before you add them.]

Put veg in the crock pot first, and lay the chicken and chorizo on top. Pour on the stock and add the herbs and lemon juice. This really doesn’t need much more seasoning – the paprika in the chorizo does most of the work.

Cook on low for 5 hours.

Check the chicken is fall-apart-awesome by stabbing it with a fork.

Do a little happy dance.

Take the lid off the pot and turn onto its high setting.

Mix the cornflour with a little water and stir into the pot.

Throw in the bulgar wheat and cook on high for another 15 mins or so.

Serve in a big ol’ bowl and warm thy cockles.

Again, it made enough for dinner tonight, tomorrow, and 4 more portions to tuck away in the freezer:

Tip: Use whiteboard pens to label your tupperware before you stick ‘em in the freezer. It’ll wipe off when you next wash them, ready to use again.

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