Monday “Mess”-cipe Recipe

I woke up yesterday to a cool, rainy morning…  Perfect excuse to bust the slow cooker out of its summer retirement for a little cleaned up comfort food.  I had a bunch of summer produce hanging around, nearly on its last leg so I knew I needed to concoct a dish using as much of it as possible.  Solution?  An “everything but the kitchen sink” veggie dish.

Ingredients (I never really measure when I cook, so all of these measurements are educated guesses.  Much more fun that way.):

• 1 tsp virgin coconut oil (You could also use olive oil, but I really love the flavor good quality coconut oil imparts)
• 1 ½ c chopped onion (I used one small vidalia onion)
• 1 c carrot, sliced ¼-inch thick (I used three large carrots)

Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook until tender (about 5 minutes).

• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced (The heat is in the seeds and the ribs, so if you’re a fan of spicy food leave a little more of the ribs intact.)

Add curry, ginger, garlic, and chile.

Cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly until aromatic and well combined.  Place onion mixture in slow cooker.

• 1 ½ c cubed sweet potato (I used two small spuds)
• 1 c cubed yellow squash (I used one small squash)
• 1 c diced bell pepper (I used half of a green pepper and half of a red one)
• 2 c cut green beans (Dirty little secret: I used frozen…just as good and usually cheaper)

Add remaining vegetables to onion mixture.

Add remaining ingredients.

• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, including juices (look for lower sodium varieties)
• 14 oz low-sodium vegetable broth (more or less depending on how thin you want the dish to be)

Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until all vegetables are tender.

By the time I had everything bubbling away in the crock-pot, the morning rain had subsided, the sun came out, and I decided it would be a perfect afternoon to take my birthday present to myself for a test drive…

…and my apartment smelled amazing when I returned 🙂

To give the dish a little something extra, wilt in fresh spinach (I used a whole bag) and coconut milk (I used about a cup of light coconut milk).   To brighten up the flavor and lend some acid to the dish (the slow cooker tends to muddy flavors a bit), spritz each serving with a fresh lemon wedge.

I served this dish with cubed chicken breast that I cooked separately, but you could simply throw some chicken right into the crock-pot along with the veggies to make a one-pot meal.  And feel free to use whatever fresh (or frozen…or even canned if you’re desperate) produce you have on hand in this “mess”-cipe recipe.