Taking the Crockpot Challenge

Recently, at the urging of several people I respect, I bought a crockpot. I made the purchase under cover of darkness at a discount store two towns from my home, hoping nobody I knew would see me. My opinion of crockpots is way down on the scale of decent cooking, despite the relatively new and uppity practice of referring to them as "gourmet slow-cookers." Call them what you will, to me tossing a pile of raw ingredients willy-nilly into an electric pot and going out for the day seemed like cheating. Besides, all the crockpot recipes I found called for things such as canned corn niblets, frozen green beans and Campbell's condensed mushroom soup, ingredients I considered appropriate only after a nuclear war had devastated the landscape and we survivors all lived in fallout shelters below ground with no access to real food.

Anyway, tired of slaving over a hot stove, especially in summer, I gave it a try. Instead of following a recipe I took my son's advice, since he is a great cook and uses one himself. "Just put a lot of stuff you like in the pot, turn it on and go out and enjoy yourself," he said. So I did. The results were nothing short of stupendous. I may eat it every night and serve it to my dinner guests forever. Try it. And hey, enjoy your time off! (See photo)

Crockpot Chicken Vegetable Dal
1 lb. ground chicken
1 large onion, chopped

32. oz. chicken broth (low sodium)
1 large red pepper, chopped
2 large mushroom caps, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 small red potatoes, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
2 Tbsp. garlic (pre-minced)
2-3 sprigs fresh dill
1/2 Tsp. cumin powder
1/2 Tsp. Cayenne chili powder
1/2 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 Tbsp. Gravy Master
1 Cup red lentils
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a skillet, brown the chicken and onion in olive oil for 10 minutes.
Place all ingredients except the lentils in crockpot.
Cook on High for three hours.
Add lentils and cook another hour, or until lentils have absorbed into stew and are no longer visible.