Fridays of Intestinal Fortitude: White Girl Tested, Brown Boy Approved

Note: Fridays of Intestinal Fortitude is a weekly(ish) feature about food, food and more FOOD. No, I am not an expert, but I do enjoy talking about food prep, cooking food, eating food and making sweet love to food.

Okay, maybe not the "sweet love" part. After all, this is not meant to be an homage to 9 1/2 Weeks.
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So, remember that post about my working and potentially using our slow cooker? I received SO many awesome ideas from that post - via email, Facebook and the comments section.  Frankly, I am still sifting through them. We got hung up after a few false starts where we found out in that uniquely soul-crushing way that using the high setting for long periods of time tends to result in Gobi Desert Worthy Chicken. I am surprised tumbleweeds did not come flying out of the damned pot. Now that we have figured out using the low setting is a vastly more palatable of an option, our slow cooking attempts have resulted in some divine dishes lately!

One of those culinary champions was a dish from my friend Andrea of Caucasian Curry.  The best part about getting  a recipe from a fellow Gori In Arms who is also in a Mixed Pickle Marriage, is that generally speaking, the recipes will be a slam-dunk when selling them to Manoj since the dish will have already been deemed Desi Worthy. It's a common misconception that Manoj only prefers spicy food -- actually, he prefers food with strong, complex flavors.  Through careful research, I have managed to find nice substitutes for some of my old favorites.  For example, Manoj will eat this Peruvian Chicken Soup, which features limes, cilantro and hard-boiled eggs.  Certainly, this is not your grandma's chicken soup.  (Unless you are Peruvian, natch.)  But still,  I often struggle when I really want something in the way of comfort food.

Thanks to Andrea and her Slow Cooker Thai Chicken, I have something to turn to now.

Andrea's Slow Cooker Thai Chicken


Ingredients
1 14 oz can light coconut milk
2 heaping tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tsp curry powder
2 tbs red chili sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken (I used 2 to 2 1/2 lbs bone-in)
2 red bell peppers, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves rough chopped garlic
5 green chilies
1/2 cup rough chopped roasted peanuts
salt/pepper

Optional:
1/2 cup fresh cilantro and lime for garnish


Note: Instead of curry powder and red chili sauce, Andrea uses 1 tablespoon red curry paste (Patak's Hot) Also, Andrea has added things such as carrots to this.  Honestly, I believe this dish might have Kitchen Sink potential and I will certainly be viewing other veggies with a closer eye the next time I make this.  YUM.

Preparation

1. In a 5- to 6-qt slow cooker, combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, curry paste and ginger.  Mix well (I let the cooker heat up a bit to help melt the peanut butter)
2. Add the chicken, peppers and onion. Stir thoroughly.
3. Cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
4. Spoon the chicken, vegetables and sauce over the rice or noodles and sprinkle with the cilantro; serve with the lime wedges, if desired.