CREDIT: SOPHIE ISBISTER
A quick, warm meal you can prepare in a slow cooker. Perfect for the upcoming winter days.

NEW WESTMINSTER — In the land of “how to meal,” you could consider using a slow cooker as playing on cheat mode. It certainly is a great way to pile your main and your side into one easy, sloppy dish, best served over rice or quinoa. But, all’s fair in love, war, and dinner. Cheat away, and dazzle your family (or just yourself) with this tasty, Thai-flavoured, veggie-laden chicken dish. I hope you like leftovers, because this recipe makes a few meals!

The best thing about slow cooker meals is that while it’s a good idea to follow a recipe for your sauce, you can kind of ad-lib the vegetables. I tend to throw in any kind of hearty vegetable I have laying around. In this case, the recipe called for onion, squash, and bell peppers, but I happened to also have some cauliflower in my fridge that I knew could stand up to a rigorous eighthour session in my Crock Pot.

Slow cooker Thai chicken

You will need:

- Two 14-ounce cans light coconut milk

- 1 cup chicken stock

- 1/4 cup peanut butter (any kind)

- 3 tablespoons red curry paste

- 2 tablespoons fish sauce

- 2 tablespoons brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

- 1 tablespoon minced garlic

- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

- 3 cups peeled and 1/2-inch cubed butternut squash pieces (about 1 pound)

- Two red bell peppers, cored and sliced

- Two green bell peppers, cored and sliced

- 2 cups chopped cauliflower

- One large onion, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)

- 2 cups frozen peas, thawed

- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)

- Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Directions:

Once you prep all your veggies and chicken, prepare the sauce in your (large) slow cooker. Mix the fish sauce, coconut milk, chicken stock, sugar, peanut butter, curry paste, ginger, and garlic all together. Add the rest of the vegetables and the chicken (except the peas), and turn on your slow cooker. This whole process should take about 30 minutes – 45 minutes if you’re me.

Then, carry on with your day. Go to the spa. Watch eight episodes of The Sopranos. Or go to class, whatever. Your tasty chicken meal will take eight hours to cook on low, or four hours on high.

The final step to this easy recipe is to add the peas 30 minutes before the dish is done cooking – mostly just to warm them up. Serve this dish over rice and garnish with the fresh lime and the cilantro. Sit back, enjoy, and pretend you’re in Bangkok. Delicious.