Slow-Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken and Vegetables

Pic courtesy Simple Bites

I made this for dinner on Sunday. It was risky b/c we had the sister missionaries to dinner, but man oh man, it was worth it. It was SO yummy. Christian even loved it! It'll definitely be a repeat.

Slow-Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken and Vegetables
adapted from Simple Bites 

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 inch cube of ginger (about 30 grams), roughly chopped
• 1 small sweet onion, peeled, quartered
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into four
• 2 cans coconut milk, not shaken
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup fresh or frozen vegetables of your choice (I used red pepper and carrots)

For the spice blend

• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander (I subbed caraway seed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (I added a little more than this.)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients from the spice blend together and set aside.
2. In a mini food processor, combine garlic, ginger and onion and pulse until it forms a paste.
3. In a saute pan, heat olive oil and melt butter. Add pureed aromatics and stir well. Cook for a few minutes, then add spice blend. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Move aromatics to one side of the pot and add chicken pieces to the pan. Cook chicken slightly on all sides, using a sturdy wooden spoon to move it around the pot. It should get thoroughly coated with the spice mixture. Transfer chicken and spices to slow cooker.
5. Open the cans of coconut milk and remove the cream from the top using a soup spoon. You should have about 1 cup. Pour the coconut milk over the chicken and with both cans, it should just barely cover the chicken.
6. Cook on low for 4 hours.
7. Whisk cornstarch with coconut cream until smooth and add to the chicken. Stir well. Add frozen or fresh vegetables of your choice. Cook for another half an hour or until you deem the chicken cooked and the vegetables hot.
8. Serve over hot rice.