I feel like I’m 95 years old this week. I’ve been so tired every night. I’m struggling writing this blog post as we speak. It looks like I’m crying because I’m yawning so much. On top of all that, I have noticed that I’m getting really bad lower back pain. I sit all day long and sometimes I don’t even get up to take a walk. Does that happen to you? If it’s raining out, I typically don’t go out for a walk so that really isn’t good, but some days I get so busy or involved at work, I forget to leave my chair, only to the bathroom. I think that’s really affecting my lower back. Why do we have to get old?! I’d be perfectly fine if I were 25 forever :)
Being tired after work doesn’t help the whole dinner part of the evening. When I’m tired, I’m usually too lazy to cook or make anything decent. That was this entire week. We ate horribly this week because I was so tired so we would go out to eat. I hate doing that but what can ya do? You can’t force yourself to cook when you can barely keep your eyes open.
That’s where slow cooker meals come into play :) a few weeks ago, I prepped everything the night before (mostly all the chopping) and threw everything in the crock pot right before we left for work in the morning and we came home to the most amazing and comforting dinner. It’s so nice to walk into your house after work and smell dinner already prepared. It’s as if you have an in-house chef.
I have seen crockpot tikka masala all over the place but a lot of them had you cooking some parts of it as a prep step. This is just my opinion but what’s the point of a set it & forget it meal if you still have to cook it before you set it? I hate those. I just like chopping things up and throwing it in a crockpot. So when I finally found this recipe on Jaclyn‘s site, I was thrilled. Definitely a keeper. Tastes just like the real thing and it makes a ton! Leftovers in this household = less days I have to cook during the week, haha
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 8 boneless skinless chicken tenderloins, or about 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 lbs.) - cut into 1.5" cubes
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1: 29- oz can of tomato puree
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp tumeric powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1-3 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on your heat preference
- 2 leaves bay
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- Lemon juice from half a small lemon
- Chopped parsley or cilantro, for topping
Instructions
- Place chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, garam masala, tumeric powder, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. With a spatula, stir to combine everything and make sure the chicken is coated well.
- Gently place the mixture in the insert of the crockpot and add the two bay leaves.
- Cover and cook for 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).
- When done, in a medium bowl, whisk together heavy cream and corn starch, then pour the mixture into the crockpot and gently stir. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to thicken up. Squeeze half a lemon over the mixture then stir to incorporate.
- Serve hot over a bed of white (or brown) rice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Hi! Do you think sour cream would be a good substitute for the plain yogurt!
No, probably wouldn’t be. Too sour!
Actually, it worked out nicely. It just made it richer and creamier. I’m not sure how it would work in a slow cooker, though. I cooked mine completely on the stovetop.