Slow cooker honey garlic chicken

Sometimes life events play a role in the recipes I choose to make, not because of cravings, or what I have around the house, but things like my freezer breaking. I had spent a lovely weekend in Sacramento where I was sidelined as a spectator to the Shamrock’n Half-Marathon, but was able to cheer on my teammate Nic Browne who finished second overall (congrats!). We returned to Vancouver early Monday morning after a 4 a.m. wake-up call. The airport’s computer system shutting down caused a delay on check-in as we were leaving Sacramento, so a grilled, cheese-filled breakfast sandwich held us over during our layover in Seattle.

It was an eventful start to the day but the excitement wouldn’t end there. When I returned to my house, I went to make myself some food but the freezer had defrosted and everything inside fell a bit on the warm side. Not knowing how long the food had been sitting thaw, I began to empty the freezer of all the meat and perishable which wouldn’t be safe to eat. Some of the food was salvageable but what was I supposed to do with five chicken breasts and a half-kilo of salmon? Pinterest to the rescue.

There was a slow cooker recipe on one of my Pinterest boards that called for the exact amount of chicken I had to be creative with. It was a great solution as I had lots to do out of the house that day and didn’t have time to spend the day cooking. Plus, it was my roommate’s birthday, so a slow cooker meal would mean dinner would be ready for her when she returned home. Win-win situation. The beauty of a slow cooker is that you just chuck a bunch of ingredients in, put the lid on, set the timer and, within a couple of hours, your meal is ready. When it came time to eat dinner, all that was left to do was cook up some rice, steam some veggies and serve up the chicken. We had hot, hearty, comfort food goodness in our bowls. Followed up with individual serving Vanilla Mug Cake and ice-cream and it was a meal that satisfied the quarter-life crisis roommate. Somehow the fridge’s dying a slow death provided a new and delicious recipe. Not a bad day.

Slow cooker honey garlic chicken

Recipe courtesy of Just a Taste

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours

Ingredients:

• 4-5 skinless chicken breasts (2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup blackberry jam [I used blueberry; just needed for a little sweetness]
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce [to substitute I used BBQ sauce mixed w/ Sriracha]
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup diced onion
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• sliced scallions, for garnish
• sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker, covering the bottom of the dish.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, blackberry jam, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion and crushed red pepper flakes.
3. Pour the mixture over the chicken, cover the slow cooker and cook on low for four to five hours.
4. Once fully cooked, remove the chicken from the slow cooker (reserving the liquids) and place it on a cutting board. Using two forks, shred the chicken into smaller pieces. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with three tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.
6. Transfer the liquids from the slow cooker into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and whisk in the slurry. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it reduces and has thickened slightly, about three minutes.
7. Take the sauce off the heat and mix in the shredded chicken. Serve the chicken topped with sliced scallions and sesame seeds adding steamed vegetables to add a colour and nutrient pop!