Crock-Pot Chicken Curry over Cauliflower Rice

I did a little poll to see what kind of recipes you all were wanting. What I got back were things like easy, crock-pot, one dish, dinner, healthy, Super Bowl and Valentine's recipes. Minus the Super Bowl and Valentine's treats, I think I was able to combine all the other wants and needs into one dish! I mean you could totally make this and eat it during the Super Bowl or with your lovie on Vday, but we will come up with more "themed" recipes for those later..

With some inspo from The Food Charlaltan, I bring you my version of Crock-Pot Chicken Curry over Cauliflower Rice. It's comforting but still healthy and even Whole 30 approved. This was also my first time to make cauliflower rice, and I'm sold. I used this method.

You can definitely buy the pre-packaged cauliflower rice they sell in the stores, but the size and shape and look of it kind of weirds me out, so I made my own. You get a ton more and it's a lot cheaper to make your own. Hint, I use a box grater to achieve the rice look! But again, here is the how-to.

Do you guys ever use those crock-pot liners? If you don't, you're welcome for informing you. My good friend Sarah Beth showed them to me when we lived together our senior year of college. They are basically a big ziploc baggy that fits your crock-pot, but has magical powers to withstand the heat and not melt during the cooking process. So once your crock-pot has done all the work, and you get to enjoy a delicious meal, you simply lift the bag out of the pot and there is legit no clean up. Because how many times have you scraped and soaked and scraped and soaked crusted on velveta queso off your crock-pot?? Buy them and you'll never not line your crock-pot again.

Crock-Pot Chicken Curry over Cauliflower Rice adapted from The Food Charlatan
makes 3-4 servings

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 tsp. oil
1 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk (full fat or light will work)
1 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. yellow curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 red onion (large, or 1 small), chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (almond meal, coconut flour, tapioca starch & arrowroot powder will work to make it Whole 30 approved)
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated or minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
*4 cups homemade or store bought cauliflower rice

Toppings:
chopped cilantro, red onion, cashews

Directions:
Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil. Salt and pepper your chicken thighs.

When the oil is hot, add your chicken thighs. Don't put them too close together. Depending on the size of your pan you may have to sear them in batches.

Cook for about 3 minutes until just browned on the bottom. Then flip the chicken over to brown the other side for about 2-3 minutes. You are not cooking them completely, you just want to get a good sear on them. They will finish cooking in the crock-pot. Remove the chicken to a plate.

In your crock-pot combine coconut milk, basil, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, yellow curry, and chili powder. Stir to combine. Add the chopped red onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Place the browned chicken into the curry mixture.

Place the lid on and set your crock-pot to high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove the chicken from the crock-pot and place on a cutting board. Using two forks, shred the chicken, it should be falling apart and so yummy.

Add the ginger to the slow cooker. Then a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Stir until it's not lumpy. Add this to the crock pot and stir. This will help thicken the curry. You may need to add more for your desired thickness, but give the cornstarch a little bit of time, it won't thicken immediately but will with time.

Add the shredded chicken back to the crock-pot. Return the lid and cook for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the cilantro.

For each serving I steam about 3/4 cup of homemade cauliflower rice in the microwave for a 1 minute and sprinkle a little bit of salt over it. Then spoon a generous amount of curry over the rice and top with more cilantro, red onion and my fav-chopped cashews! (This would be great with plain white or jasmine rice and some naan bread).

*If you have questions about making the cauliflower rice, comment below and I'd love to help you out!