Several months ago a sad and tragic thing happened…

My crock-pot broke. (tear)

And being the procrastinating and frugal person that I am, I never went to buy a new one. But lately with my work schedule, I haven’t had the time or energy to make a nutritious meal each night and that’s really been weighing on me. So today I bit the bullet and went to Target.

BTW – Target is fabulous for finds but terrible for my sanity. I’ll stop myself before I get started on all the bizarre things that went on during my trip there. The important part of the story is that I bought a new crock-pot!!

It’s smaller than my last one. 4.5 quarts I think. Not an ideal size. They were sold out of the one I wanted (-3 in stock actually) but it was on sale so I can’t complain. I’m excited to start setting and forgetting once again!

Here’s a few of my favorite crock pot recipes from the past!

No Hurry Vegetable Curry

Chicken and Cauliflower Curry

Sweet and Spicy Lentil Chili

No one can knock the bean. Vegetarians swear by them as a source of protein. They’re high in soluble fiber which helps lower cholesterol and promote good heart health. Full of cancer fighting antioxidants… Low glycemic index… Loaded with nutrients. And the best part about beans…They’re cheap!

The downside of beans… They can be a pain to prepare. First you gotta soak em, then you gotta cook em, and any leftover don’t last long in the fridge. That’s where the can comes in handy, for sure. Just open the can and you’re ready to go. But with the can comes high levels of sodium. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans “sodium from cooked dry beans increases from 3 milligrams to 618 milligrams per cup when replaced by canned beans!”

Can you imagine? That’s just under half the recommended maximum of sodium per day…in one cup of beans!!!

Cooking with dried beans is the optimum choice for good health. My suggestion would be to cook a big batch and freeze the extra for future meals. A little extra work can do  a whole lot of good for your body! Another benefit of going dry over canned is the cost. One pound of dried beans (which costs about a dollar) is approximately 12-14 servings of cooked beans, or about 4 cans worth!

The most convenient way to cook dried beans is in the slow cooker. Then you don’t have to sit around for hours just because the stove is on. You should still soak the beans overnight as this is said to make them more easy to digest.

• Take one pound of dried beans, rinse and pick over well to make sure there are no little rocks.
• Soak beans in enough water to cover plus an inch or two for 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain the beans and place in a slow cooker with 6-8 cups of water (enough to cover them). Cover the pot and cook on high for 8 – 12 hours.
• Optional additions could be onions, garlic or herbs. Don’t add salt or anything acidic while the beans are cooking as this will compromise the creaminess of the beans. These ingredients can be added once the beans are ready for whatever dish you’re going to prepare.

So that’s that for the bean and sodium and the negatives of the can. If you absolutely must use canned beans, make sure you choose brands that are low in sodium, rinse them thoroughly. and discard the juice.

Here’s another recipe featured by The Food Network. It’s a Giada de Laurentiis.  I really seem to like her recipes the best. It must be the Italian in me.  As always I changed some things and I’ll probably change some more the next time I make it but the gist will still be there.  The original recipe called for chicken thighs, a pound of lentils, and one head of cauliflower.  The recipe below is a little different.  I used chicken breast and would recommend half the lentils and twice as much cauliflower. Give it a try and enjoy.

Chicken and Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
• 1/2 cup prepared red Thai curry paste
• 3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium canned, or homemade
• 2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
• 6 bone-in skinless chicken thighs, about 2 1/4 pounds
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 lb red lentils, rinsed
• 1 large head cauliflower, broken into large florets
• 2 (16-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 bunch fresh mint or cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 lemon, cut in wedges

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Heat the oil; add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the curry paste and continue to cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Whisk the broth with all the aromatics in the pan; then pour the liquid into a slow cooker. Whisk the yogurt into the liquid.

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Add the chicken, lentils and remaining salt to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours, adding cauliflower and chickpeas about half way through cooking.

Divide curry evenly into bowls and scatter freshly torn mint or cilantro on top. Serve with a wedge of lemon.