November: Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole
As we settle into autumn what could be better than a home cooked casserole. This month’s recipe uses a slow cooker. Slow cookers are popular because they are more energy efficient than traditional cooking methods, but the recipe can easily be cooked in the oven on a low temperature setting in a casserole dish. You can pop all the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a perfectly cooked dish.
We have used a selection of season root vegetables and chicken. You may like to substitute the chicken for a vegan or vegetarian substitute, or perhaps add some lentils or beans. We served our casserole with mashed potato and gravy for a quick and easy meal. You could serve it with fresh wholemeal bread.
Serves 4
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 4 hours on a high setting or 6-8 on low setting
Ingredients
- 1 onion , chopped
- 2/3 carrots, chopped into medium sized chunks
- 1/2 parsnips, chopped into medium sized chunks
- 1 swede, chopped
- 1 tbsp of dried mixed herbs
- 1 stock pot or Stock cube dissolved in 250 mls water
- 1 bay leaf
- 300/400g chicken. Thigh fillets work well.
Instructions
Chop the vegetable into similar sized chunks.
Add the chopped vegetables, herbs and stock to the slow cooker and stir.
Place the chicken on top and add the lid.
Stir once towards the end of cooking and add more hot water if you think its drying out, the chicken and vegetable will release some water as they cook. Avoid removing the lid during cooking as this will slow the cooking time down.
Check the chicken (if using) is cooked all the way through and the vegetable are tender before serving.
You can print the recipe HERE
You can print the shopping HERE
What’s in season this month
Warming bowls of fresh seasonal produce are hard to beat at this time of year. Stews, soups
, bakes and tagines are perfect for keeping warm. Look out this month for Potatoes, Sprouts, Spring green, cabbage, White cabbage, Red cabbage, Savoy cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Kale and leeks.