By Seth Fera-Schanes

New Yorkers work hard and play hard which leaves little time for other activities such as making dinner.  You can run a quick straw poll and see for yourself.  Select a few people on the street and ask how many times a week they order food.  If you are considering breakfast, lunch and dinner that is 21 opportunities for ordering.  We will exclude quick trips to the bodega, 4pm work coffees and late night drunk halal food carts.  I would guess people in the city get delivery or go to a restaurant for 25%-33% of their meals.

If you want to save some money or just watch what you are eating, I have included a recipe that is great for making in an apartment.  These types of recipes require minimal effort; maybe just a few minutes chop, brown something in a sauté pan first or making rice to serve with your dish.  I know you can leave a slow cookers on all day but I get nervous having something cooking while I am at work.  I actually put the ingredients in at 11pm at night and set the timer to stop cooking at 5am the next morning.  This cooks the food (while I am home) and provides enough time to cool by the time I wake up.  I can then put the food in the refrigerator for dinner that night or bring some to work for lunch.

Trust me when I tell you waking up to the smells from your slow cooker is fantastic.  This recipe comes from Chicken Farmer’s of Canada.  More slow-cooker recipes can be found on The Refined Chef.

Moroccan-style Ground Chicken And Couscous

Serving size: 4

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 6 hours

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground chicken

1 Tbsp olive oil, extra virgin

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red onion, minced

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground

2 tsp coriander, ground

1 Tbsp ginger, fresh, minced

1 can chickpeas, with liquid

1 can tomatoes, diced

2 cups sweet potatoes, diced

1 cup red pepper, diced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup whole wheat couscous

1 cup water

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp mint, fresh

Directions:

1 Heat oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet. Add garlic, onion and ground chicken and sauté for 5 minutes as you mix well to combine. Stir in spices and ginger and sauté another 2 minutes. Add to slow cooker.

2 Stir in chickpeas with juice, tomatoes with juice, sweet potatoes, red pepper and lemon juice and stir. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours.

3 Stir in whole wheat couscous, water and frozen green peas. Turn slow cooker to warm setting and let sit for 20 minutes. Season with salt and add additional water if too thick.

4 Serve like chili in bowls. Garnish with fresh mint (optional).