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Monday, March 25, 2013

Crockpot Curried Chicken & Lentil Soup!

I’m experimenting!

And it’s a bit slow going.  And I might screw up with additives from seasonings here and there ---but I’m learning.

I don’t have any digestive tract problems with wheat products, the sensitivity to wheat just shows up in other ways in my body ---but I’m trying to adjust what I eat to work with my new and improved gluten-free life style.

A couple days before leaving for Portland I made a wonderful soup using a left over broiled chicken carcass we had already eaten most of the “good” parts from and some simple ingredients I had on hand.

Flavor is really important to me and I added Tone’s brand curry powder as a seasoning.  And yes, I did read the label.  It said “Spices, Turmeric (as color), Black Pepper, Salt, and Red Pepper.”

So this is the way things came together:

The Evening Before:

Place leftover roast chicken carcass in crock pot and cover with  6-8 cups of water.  Allow to cook on high until all the meat falls off the bones. I think it cooked for about 4 hours total.

Strain broth from bones and meat –place broth in a covered dish in the fridge overnight to separate the fat from the broth.  Remove meat from bones and either cut it into small bits, or shred it with your fingers.  I put the gleaned meat ((It’s amazing what you can get off of a chicken you thought was pretty much eaten up already!)) into a ziplock bag in the fridge until the next day.

I like to make my own broth this way without the need of bullion cubes to enhance the flavor ---you get great flavor from simmering the bones along with the meat in the crock pot for a long time.

Around noon the next day ---skim the fat from the chicken broth and add back to crock pot.

home 043

Add the meat back to the broth and add the following as desired:

2 medium carrots, sliced
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
1 large onion diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/3 cup rice
1/2 cup dry lentils ((or more if desired))
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp poultry seasoning

From here it was just simmering all day until rice and lentils were tender and it was time to eat.  The aroma was wonderful, and it was a very easy, hearty  meal with a bit of an exotic curry flavor.

Diced potatoes could replace the rice if you so desire, or leave the rice out all together – but it did help the soup to thicken.

This would freeze really well also – great for a quick meal on hand!

10 comments:

  1. Sounds really yummy!! Might just have to "borrow" this one.

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  2. Very interesting. I think I can smell it here. Yum!

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  3. Check out A Year of Slow Cooking blog for loads of yummy recipes...and all gluten free. I discovered this site way before I was gluten-free. Comes up easily with a google search.

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  4. Wow! Those are some beautiful colors for a quilt! We do quite a bit with left over broiled chicken carcasses! Yours sounds wonderful.

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  5. Sounds like wonderful soup. Looking for great flavor try Penzey's Spices...just google them. They have great spices and their own blends as well. Recipes too. They have stores all over the states and with all your traveling you are sure to be near one and I don't know many quilters who don't love to cook too......someone will help you find one.

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  6. hope being gluten free is helping you feel better!

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  7. Crockpot -- best invention EVER!!

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  8. My friend here who writes Gluten free cook books always uses a little corn starch for thickeing. I make soups about the same way but hadn't thought about using the crock pot.

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