Mulligatawny

It has been far too long since I've shared a recipe. I'm so sorry! Life has been...well...life. It doesn't mean I haven't been cooking in the crock pot though! I've tried some new recipes, remade plenty of favorites, and really want to focus on sharing those with you. I've tried to stay in touch a bit through the Crock Pot Virgin Facebook page too. 

And I'm so out of practice with blogging, that I didn't even take pictures of my most recent crock pot meal, but I enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it anyway. (I'll try and update this post in the future with pictures when I make it again.) This is a slight variation of the recipe on page 222 of Stephanie O'Dea's  More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: 200 Brand-New, Budget-Friendly, Slow-Cooker Recipes (great cookbook by the way!).

If you've never had Mulligatawny, you're in for a surprising treat! It's a soup (in case you didn't know) and my hubby and I were first introduced to it at one of our favorite restaurants in Lake Oswego, OR (near Portland), Gubanc's Pub and Restaurant. This was one of the soup specials in the rotation and we always kept an eye out for it so we could eat this yumminess!



So...here are the Ingredients I used (Items with an * are slight variations from the original recipe, or are more specific):

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders (frozen)*
• 1/2 of a peeled/chopped Granny Smith apple (about 1/2" cubes)*
• 1/4 of a peeled/chopped red apple (I used Fuji) (about 1/2" cubes)*
• 1 cup of peeled/chopped carrots
• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes (is it just me or why do most recipes call for 15 oz cans when they are 14.5?)*
• 1 Tbsp onion flakes
• 1/4 cup raisins (one small box)
• Juice from 1/2 lemon*
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 box (32 oz) chicken broth*
• 1/3 cup rice* (I used medium grain since that is what I keep stocked)

Directions:

(Note: The directions called for a 6-qt crock pot, but it only filled up a little under half way, so I probably could have used my 4-qt. )

1. Put the chicken in the bottom.
2.  Add the apples, carrots, tomatoes, onion flakes and raisins.
3. Add the spices, lemon juice and broth.
4. Cover and cook on high for the first 2 hours (I just have this thing about frozen meat being cooked on low).
5. Drop heat to low and cook for another 5-6 hours.

This was SO GOOD! The apples add a great sweetness and sourness (because I knew the soup should be slightly sour and chose the granny smith apples). But they're not too "apple-y" which I was worried about when I looked at it. I didn't think 1/3 cup of rice was going to be very noticeable either, but it was a perfect addition of some carbs for this to be a meal. The recipe indicates it serves 6 - but we probably had 2 servings worth each for dinner the first time, and plenty for a good hearty additional meal the second night (the rice seemed to plump up even more and therefore made it seem a little heartier).

What would I do differently?
Well..for starters I had added extra chicken broth (the recipe calls for 3 cups but I just threw in the rest of the box because I didn't have plans to use it up and I like soup). This may have diluted the flavors a bit so next time I would stick with the 3 cups for the first time...and leave the leftover broth to thin it out when reheating if necessary.

My husband also asked that I bump up the curry next time. I'm always worried if flavors will intensify when cooking, and since he doesn't really like spicy things, I was particularly careful about the curry. So next time, I'll probably double it.

I think I would also try brown rice next time just to mix it up and add even better health benefits.

By the way...

We're continually trying to eat healthier and I've recently rejoined Weight Watchers to help me get focused on losing a little weight. If you are also on WW, this soup happened to be only 3 PointsPlus per serving! So...super easy, filling meal! :-)

I'd love to know what you think if you give this a try! Please leaves your comments below. And if you make any modifications, let me know how it turns out so I can give it a whirl!

*Some links in this post are affiliate links, which just means that if you end up making a purchase after using my link I get paid a small commission (at no additional cost to you).