I am not a very organized or scheduled person. So it's not a surprise when there are many late afternoons that I'm left scratching my head about what we're going to eat for dinner that night. Sometimes I'm even still scratching my head as late as 7 PM (like I did today!) Thankfully, though it was late, I remembered one of my family's favorite meals: West African groundnut stew. ("Groundnut" means peanut.)
Previously I'd always made this in a slow cooker, but tonight I made it on the stove (and microwave) and it worked just fine. It's a recipe for which I almost always have the 5 ingredients on hand, is flexible in terms of amounts, and is loved by all 5 of us!
Quick version:
Get a pot of white rice cooking.
Microwave frozen boneless chicken pieces until cooked, or mostly cooked. (Tonight I did 6 tenders for 8 min.)
Chop 1/2-1 onion and saute in pot with a little oil. Add diced chicken. Cook a few minutes (until chicken is done and onions are clear).
Add crushed or diced tomatoes to taste. (Tonight I used a whole 28 oz. can of crushed.)
Add a few scoops of peanut butter, and cook on low until you're ready to eat. (Tonight I covered the pot and simmered for probably 10-15 min.)
Serve stew on rice. (I always add salt and crushed red pepper to my own helping.)
Crockpot version:
Put all the ingredients (including frozen chicken pieces) in the slow cooker (I usually use 1/2 onion sliced, not chopped, and maybe not an entire can of tomatoes) and cook on high for a couple hours, or leave on low all day. This eliminates the need to defrost or cook chicken.
I'm sure you could do more with this basic recipe to make it healthier (like add spinach) or more suited to your tastes. You could use any kind of tomatoes, but it's canned that I tend to have always on hand. You could use other kinds of meat, but again, chicken is what I tend to have in the freezer. It's a very flexible dish!! And oh, so YUMMY!
Previously I'd always made this in a slow cooker, but tonight I made it on the stove (and microwave) and it worked just fine. It's a recipe for which I almost always have the 5 ingredients on hand, is flexible in terms of amounts, and is loved by all 5 of us!
Quick version:
Get a pot of white rice cooking.
Microwave frozen boneless chicken pieces until cooked, or mostly cooked. (Tonight I did 6 tenders for 8 min.)
Chop 1/2-1 onion and saute in pot with a little oil. Add diced chicken. Cook a few minutes (until chicken is done and onions are clear).
Add crushed or diced tomatoes to taste. (Tonight I used a whole 28 oz. can of crushed.)
Add a few scoops of peanut butter, and cook on low until you're ready to eat. (Tonight I covered the pot and simmered for probably 10-15 min.)
Serve stew on rice. (I always add salt and crushed red pepper to my own helping.)
Crockpot version:
Put all the ingredients (including frozen chicken pieces) in the slow cooker (I usually use 1/2 onion sliced, not chopped, and maybe not an entire can of tomatoes) and cook on high for a couple hours, or leave on low all day. This eliminates the need to defrost or cook chicken.
I'm sure you could do more with this basic recipe to make it healthier (like add spinach) or more suited to your tastes. You could use any kind of tomatoes, but it's canned that I tend to have always on hand. You could use other kinds of meat, but again, chicken is what I tend to have in the freezer. It's a very flexible dish!! And oh, so YUMMY!
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing! We have a similar recipe that I love, but with a lot more spices: curry, thyme, nutmeg, chili powder, and also a dash of lemon juice. Yours sounds a lot simpler, and thus less intimidating!
My mom makes a more complex version of this, with more spices and steps (which is also very yummy, of course). But I figure since we all like it this way, why not give myself a break from following a longer recipe? It's nice to have something simple that's reliable :-)
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