Whole Chicken Breasts in sauce I have been looking for a chance to use my slow cooker again since it had been a few months since I made Momma-Knows-Best Chicken Chili.
My friend A was coming over on a weeknight after work to catch up with me and relax with our new favorite activity: Lifetime Movie Club.
First we read the plot of a ridiculous Lifetime movie and then think of between three and five recurring themes upon which we take a sip of our drink every time one of our themes occurs.
For example, we recently watched Pastor Brown, a flick where a down-on-her-luck NYC stripper flies home to Atlanta to her ailing pastor/father's bedside where she is named his successor. Every time she complained about her life or someone disparaged her old "career" we took a sip. As a fun way to relax and watch bad television, it is all in good fun and because we are eating as well as having a (root) beer or two, it's never too crazy; except for the Lifetime plot lines of course!
I would love to write a Lifetime movie, it would combine a few of my passions; a girl can certainly dream.
Find the recipe after the jump...
My friend A was coming over on a weeknight after work to catch up with me and relax with our new favorite activity: Lifetime Movie Club.
First we read the plot of a ridiculous Lifetime movie and then think of between three and five recurring themes upon which we take a sip of our drink every time one of our themes occurs.
For example, we recently watched Pastor Brown, a flick where a down-on-her-luck NYC stripper flies home to Atlanta to her ailing pastor/father's bedside where she is named his successor. Every time she complained about her life or someone disparaged her old "career" we took a sip. As a fun way to relax and watch bad television, it is all in good fun and because we are eating as well as having a (root) beer or two, it's never too crazy; except for the Lifetime plot lines of course!
I would love to write a Lifetime movie, it would combine a few of my passions; a girl can certainly dream.
Find the recipe after the jump...
Shredded Chicken, almost done. Since I knew A and I were going to be hungry while devouring the cliches of Pastor Brown, I settled on a recipe that I found on my favorite website, Foodgawker where I found "The Way to His Heart" blog. You can find the original recipe here.
The original recipe calls for four chicken breasts and, as you'll see below, I only had two so I figured there would be more sauce since I didn't change the amount of the rest of the ingredients.
However, my assumption was wrong. I did serve it with rice like the original recipe calls for but brown rice being more bland than other more flavorful rices, I would have loved for more sauce to be present to wet the rice a little more.
As you can see, there is a lot of liquid in the slow cooker after I put the shredded chicken back in, but eventually a lot of the sauce gets soaked up by the protein.
Although it was fine for the two of us, next time I will double the amount of sauce, add some vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, or snap peas, and use all four chicken breasts to ensure leftovers.
Besides my first impressions that will be helpful for duplicating this recipe in the future, otherwise, A & I really enjoyed this dish. A little spice, a little sweet, and completely comforting.
The original recipe calls for four chicken breasts and, as you'll see below, I only had two so I figured there would be more sauce since I didn't change the amount of the rest of the ingredients.
However, my assumption was wrong. I did serve it with rice like the original recipe calls for but brown rice being more bland than other more flavorful rices, I would have loved for more sauce to be present to wet the rice a little more.
As you can see, there is a lot of liquid in the slow cooker after I put the shredded chicken back in, but eventually a lot of the sauce gets soaked up by the protein.
Although it was fine for the two of us, next time I will double the amount of sauce, add some vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, or snap peas, and use all four chicken breasts to ensure leftovers.
Besides my first impressions that will be helpful for duplicating this recipe in the future, otherwise, A & I really enjoyed this dish. A little spice, a little sweet, and completely comforting.
Drool Tip: "Besides reducing the amount of chicken and omitting scallions, I followed this recipe exactly except for my own addition of powdered ginger. Feel free to add your own complimentary ingredients inspired by your favorite Asian foods."
COMFORTING HONEY SESAME CHICKEN: SLOW COOKER STYLE
Serves: 4-6
4 boneless chicken breasts (I only used 2, pics above)
S & P
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
(Optional) Additional Ingredients:
Brown or White Rice
Vegetables (Broccoli, Asparagus, Snap Peas, etc.)
1. Season (thawed) chicken breasts with S&P and put in the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Mix onion, garlic, honey, tomato paste, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, ginger, and red pepper flakes and pour over the chicken.
3. Cook on HIGH for 2 hours; or LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
4. About half an hour before the chicken is done cooking*, mix together cornstarch and water and keep handy near your slow cooker, you will need this after you shred your chicken in order to thicken the sauce.
*(You may want to start cooking your rice now! If you are using delicate vegetables that should not cook for two hours, you can add them 15-30 minutes before the chicken is done to quickly cook them in the slow cooker. Advise your slow cooker instructions/tips for exact times; I did not add veggies this time. (See my Drool Update below!)
5. When the chicken is done cooking, pull out of the slow cooker and shred with your hands. You can use a knife but it's easier to pull it apart (wearing gloves) or by letting it cool for a few minutes, because it will be HOT.
6. While shredding the chicken, add the cornstarch mixture to the slow cooker, stir, and replace lid.
7. Replace chicken then turn slow cooker on HIGH for 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
8. When sauce is thick, turn slow cooker to warm until you are ready to serve. Plate some rice (or veggies, or both!) and serve the chicken on top with a few sesame seeds for good measure.
While you're waiting 2+ hours for this to cook, invite a friend over and see what's playing on Lifetime, "Your Life. Your Time."
Serves: 4-6
4 boneless chicken breasts (I only used 2, pics above)
S & P
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
(Optional) Additional Ingredients:
Brown or White Rice
Vegetables (Broccoli, Asparagus, Snap Peas, etc.)
1. Season (thawed) chicken breasts with S&P and put in the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Mix onion, garlic, honey, tomato paste, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, ginger, and red pepper flakes and pour over the chicken.
3. Cook on HIGH for 2 hours; or LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
4. About half an hour before the chicken is done cooking*, mix together cornstarch and water and keep handy near your slow cooker, you will need this after you shred your chicken in order to thicken the sauce.
*(You may want to start cooking your rice now! If you are using delicate vegetables that should not cook for two hours, you can add them 15-30 minutes before the chicken is done to quickly cook them in the slow cooker. Advise your slow cooker instructions/tips for exact times; I did not add veggies this time. (See my Drool Update below!)
5. When the chicken is done cooking, pull out of the slow cooker and shred with your hands. You can use a knife but it's easier to pull it apart (wearing gloves) or by letting it cool for a few minutes, because it will be HOT.
6. While shredding the chicken, add the cornstarch mixture to the slow cooker, stir, and replace lid.
7. Replace chicken then turn slow cooker on HIGH for 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
8. When sauce is thick, turn slow cooker to warm until you are ready to serve. Plate some rice (or veggies, or both!) and serve the chicken on top with a few sesame seeds for good measure.
While you're waiting 2+ hours for this to cook, invite a friend over and see what's playing on Lifetime, "Your Life. Your Time."
Drool Update: (5/24/13) "I made this dish again and threw fresh cut broccoli florets into the slow cooker in the last hour of cooking. The broccoli stayed partially crunchy so it wasn't soggy, but the color was bland and the texture wasn't ideal; basically my little green florets looked like they had drown in red goop and chicken bits. My new suggestion is with something like broccoli, steam it alongside the rice as it's cooking and you will have bright green, fresh-tasting broccoli to throw on top of the chicken and rice to make it a complete--and seemingly healthy--meal."
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