Annegret's Chicken Curry

This is the first time I have  actually written down the recipe for my curry. I did not come across curries as a dish until my first visit to England a long time ago and then later in Ireland. I was alway surprised  that it was the chinese restaurants who offered curries.
I always liked the taste of curry as one of the favourite fast food dishes in Germany is "Curry Wurst". This is a "Bratwurst", fried sausage, cut into pieces,covered in curry spice and a hot red sauce, like ketchup. Whenever you are in Germany try one!
According to legend  a woman in Berlin invented it after the war. She used the curry spices to cover up the smell of bad meat! Now I am well aware of the fact that neither the aforementioned nor my Curry have anything in common with the real curries in India. All the same, I think the following is quite delicious and as it is not too hot children will love it.

Over the years some friends and I decided on having curry lunches and the following recipe is the result
of many trials and error until every one of us was happy and content.

Cooking Time: aprox.30 min

Ingredients

400 g chicken breast

I large onion or 2 medium

1 red or yellow pepper

2 to 3 Tbsp corn flour

2 to 3 Tbsp mild curry paste of your choice

Some chili pepper depending how hot you want it

1 tin of coconut milk

150 to 200 ml chicken stock
1 Tbsp tomato purée 

Rapeseed or sunflower oil for cooking

Cooking Instructions

Cut the chicken breast into approx 2 cm large pieces.

Cover the chicken pieces with the cornflower 

Fry the chicken pieces in the oil until golden brown, set aside

Quickly fry the onion slices and pepper pieces set aside

Gently fry curry paste, add the coco nut milk and chicken stock and the tomato purée. Gently cook for approx 15 min. Adjust seasoning. Depending how hot you want the curry, add more chili.

Add the chicken and vegetables and heat thoroughly through. If you want the vegetables to be ""al dente" ,  add them only shortly before serving.

Serve the curry with rice and fried bananas ( fry banana slices in butter and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and Garam Masala)

                    Chicken curry in the slow cooker

You can make of course  your own curry mix, if you have all the ingredients in the house, but for a quick simple curry the paste is totally adequate. Have a look at the ingredients and if you like them, then the paste is for you.

Slow cooker
The recipe can be used equally well in the
slow cooker. Just prepare all the ingredients
and put them into a freezer bag, seal and freeze.
When you want to use it simply put the
frozen curry into the cooker and cook according
to your crock pot.

Slow cooking

For all the people who do not have time to assemble fine food after a hard days work.

This time I would like  to interest you in a very different type of cooking and preparation .
Circumstances forced me to prepare a lot of different dishes for the freezer, so I could use them at a later stage. What I did not have was time. What I do have is a freezer and a slow cooker or crock pot. Should you do not have a slow cooker, you certainly have an oven. All recipes can be slow cooked in a low oven in a casserole as well.

my reliable slow cooker

I got some very useful tips  from pinterest. I found that the recipes used ingredients which often were only available in the States, but I adopted the general idea and I have to say it works. I was surprised to see how well and especially how little time it took to prepare a dozen dishes.
 Would you believe,  within 2 hrs I prepared

10 main dishes and  two different vegetable soups. Not bad!

The main idea is, that you prepare all ingredients in their raw state, put them into a freezer bag and add a cooking liquid. All ingredients should be covered by that liquid, so that they would not suffer any "frost bites"
I used for the main meat ingredients chicken breast and loin of pork, you just as easily can use fresh fish, like cod and haddock or beef pieces or meat minced.
 For the liquid,  I used coconut milk for  curry, Baxters mushroom soup for the chicken mushroom casserole,  Baxters Consomme for the pork and bean stew, beer and consomme for the pork beer stew, etc.
The options are amazing depending on what you want to do. Once the freezer is empty, I certainly will try out more ideas.
So far I have used two of the prepared dishes. To my delight they were delicious and so, so easy.
I simply took the bag with the pork bean stew out of the freezer, emptied the content straight in to the slow cooker, added 1/2 cup of water, put it on high and forgot it for 6 hours. Every so often the lovely smell wafting through the house, would remind you, that there was something cooking.

Pork and Beans Stew 

Ingredients  ( 4 persons)

1 pork chop per person cut into small pieces

1 medium onion cut

2 tomatoes chopped

1 red/or yellow pepper cut small

1 tin of Baked beans

1 tin of kidney beans  (discard the liquid)

1 tin of Consomme or 150 ml chicken stock cooled

1 Tsp sweet paprika

some pepper

1 to 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 clove of garlic (optional)

Method

Put all ingredients into a freezer bag and close, after pushing out the air beforehand. Freeze in!

Note:  Write the name of the dish on the bag before filling it. Later after a few days in the freezer you will not be able to distinguish between the Pork & Beans or the Pork in Beer Sauce

When you want to use it, simply empty the food into the slow cooker with a little added water. Switch the slow cooker on high and leave alone for 6 hours

If you use the oven, put the casserole in at 150 C. Check after 2 hrs if the food is defrosted, within the 6 hrs you might want to add a little more water. Depending on your oven you might want to reduce the temperature.

Note 2: check the seasoning before serving. I added a little more vinegar to balance the taste

Ready for the freezer

Chicken and mushroom 

Ingredients ( 4 persons)

1 chicken breast per person ( if breasts are very big then use two breasts per 3 persons)

1 medium onion

250 g fresh mushrooms

rind of 1 lemon

juice of one lemon

Some black pepper

1 tin of mushroom soup ( I used Baxters)

                          ⌘

a little fresh cream to be used just before serving

Method

Cut the meat into pieces, cut the vegetables. Put all ingredients into a bowl, mix well. 

Put all the ingredients into a freezer bag and seal it. Freeze.

When you want to use it, simply put the food into the slow cooker, minus the freezer bag of course, and add a little water.

Switch the cooker on to high and leave it alone for 6 hrs.

The oven option as above as for the Pork and Beans.

Note:  these dishes are served equally well with rice, pasta or creamed potatoes.