My trusty trio of slow cookers:
Top to bottom: 2 quart round, 4 quart oval, and 6 quart round, all Crock-Pot brand.
You KNOW I couldn't possibly leave the whole white-meat-chicken-in-a-crock thing alone.
I made "Pepper-Pineapple Chicken", from Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook, by American Heart Association.
Yep. Another dance with my old nemesis, chicken breast meat, in the crock. This time however, I was victorious. Ok, here's the thing: you CAN cook chicken breasts in the crock pot successfully...but you better be home! Don't turn your back on them because I'm finding that they are done WAY earlier than the recipe says. This recipe said 4 to 5 hours on low...my chicken was done in 2 1/2 hours.
So regarding the chicken breasts--the recipe said to cut them in 1/2, but I went 6 chunks per chicken breast. Next time I would go smaller, more bite-sized chunks (which will affect cooking time, so check a little earlier). Other ingredients include: red pepper, pineapple chunks and pineapple juice, broth, water chestnuts, garlic, and fresh ginger. And when the chicken is done you remove the it from the pot, then switch it up to high and thicken the sauce left in the pot with cornstarch, and flavor it with rice vinegar and soy sauce.
Overall, this was a hit with the family...we even had a guest at our house at lunchtime the next day, and one family member and the guest both at it leftover, and gave it good reviews. Our discerning guest picked up the citrus note in the sauce from the pineapple juice. Personally, I'd probably add some nice crispy snow peas for green-ness, and experiment with adding several more veggies (Next time I'm going to add in julienned carrots, and maybe some chunks of zucchini...). I'd also thicken the sauce more than the recipe said, because it was a little watery, and didn't adhere to the chicken. Actually, I'm thinking it might be better to transfer the sauce to a little saucepan and thicken it on the stovetop rather than trying to do it in the crock pot...the cornstarch didn't really do it's thing--it sort of just separated and laid on the bottom of the pot. I think it needs a bit higher heat to transform into a nice cohesive glaze. But to summarize: I'd make it again with the above changes. It was quick, easy, and the chicken was actually, surprisingly moist and tender! Hooray. That's the first time I've EVER had decent white meat chicken coming out of the slow cooker, and therefore a big win in my book.
The recipe called for garnishment with green onions and almonds--everyone agreed that the green onions were very important. And I topped it all with chopped peanuts, for those who wanted them.
This dish can be done from the time you put it in the crock (which only takes, literally, a couple of minutes) start to finish in 3 hours; 2 1/2 to cook the chicken and peppers, and another 15 minutes or so to thicken the sauce (just a few minutes probably if you were to do it in a saucepan on the stovetop instead). So it's a good contender for popping in the crock after church on Sunday early afternoon to eat for dinner, or even just sticking it in there and letting it roll some evening while you're working around the house, to make portable, individual, homemade "bowls" to re-heat for a quick lunches. Everyone enjoyed this dish with a little side of rice. I would have preferred mine with shredded cabbage instead of rice, but when I reached for the cabbage I had left in the fridge it was not fresh anymore. Doggone it. I hate it when I don't use things up fast enough.
I couldn't find this recipe published anywhere on the internet to link up for you. And I'm not sure of the legality of me posting it word-for-word here...? Anybody know? So I'm gonna have to leave it up to you to check it out from the library, or buy or borrow the book from a friend until I find that out. Several recipes I'm going to be making and reviewing ARE up in various places on the internet, so I will link those for you whenever possible.
I made "Pepper-Pineapple Chicken", from Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook, by American Heart Association.
Yep. Another dance with my old nemesis, chicken breast meat, in the crock. This time however, I was victorious. Ok, here's the thing: you CAN cook chicken breasts in the crock pot successfully...but you better be home! Don't turn your back on them because I'm finding that they are done WAY earlier than the recipe says. This recipe said 4 to 5 hours on low...my chicken was done in 2 1/2 hours.
So regarding the chicken breasts--the recipe said to cut them in 1/2, but I went 6 chunks per chicken breast. Next time I would go smaller, more bite-sized chunks (which will affect cooking time, so check a little earlier). Other ingredients include: red pepper, pineapple chunks and pineapple juice, broth, water chestnuts, garlic, and fresh ginger. And when the chicken is done you remove the it from the pot, then switch it up to high and thicken the sauce left in the pot with cornstarch, and flavor it with rice vinegar and soy sauce.
Overall, this was a hit with the family...we even had a guest at our house at lunchtime the next day, and one family member and the guest both at it leftover, and gave it good reviews. Our discerning guest picked up the citrus note in the sauce from the pineapple juice. Personally, I'd probably add some nice crispy snow peas for green-ness, and experiment with adding several more veggies (Next time I'm going to add in julienned carrots, and maybe some chunks of zucchini...). I'd also thicken the sauce more than the recipe said, because it was a little watery, and didn't adhere to the chicken. Actually, I'm thinking it might be better to transfer the sauce to a little saucepan and thicken it on the stovetop rather than trying to do it in the crock pot...the cornstarch didn't really do it's thing--it sort of just separated and laid on the bottom of the pot. I think it needs a bit higher heat to transform into a nice cohesive glaze. But to summarize: I'd make it again with the above changes. It was quick, easy, and the chicken was actually, surprisingly moist and tender! Hooray. That's the first time I've EVER had decent white meat chicken coming out of the slow cooker, and therefore a big win in my book.
The recipe called for garnishment with green onions and almonds--everyone agreed that the green onions were very important. And I topped it all with chopped peanuts, for those who wanted them.
This dish can be done from the time you put it in the crock (which only takes, literally, a couple of minutes) start to finish in 3 hours; 2 1/2 to cook the chicken and peppers, and another 15 minutes or so to thicken the sauce (just a few minutes probably if you were to do it in a saucepan on the stovetop instead). So it's a good contender for popping in the crock after church on Sunday early afternoon to eat for dinner, or even just sticking it in there and letting it roll some evening while you're working around the house, to make portable, individual, homemade "bowls" to re-heat for a quick lunches. Everyone enjoyed this dish with a little side of rice. I would have preferred mine with shredded cabbage instead of rice, but when I reached for the cabbage I had left in the fridge it was not fresh anymore. Doggone it. I hate it when I don't use things up fast enough.
I couldn't find this recipe published anywhere on the internet to link up for you. And I'm not sure of the legality of me posting it word-for-word here...? Anybody know? So I'm gonna have to leave it up to you to check it out from the library, or buy or borrow the book from a friend until I find that out. Several recipes I'm going to be making and reviewing ARE up in various places on the internet, so I will link those for you whenever possible.
I have also found that cooking times are way off! Thanks for the tips. While I am at it, I will comment on your previous post, too :) I love quinoa for breakfas! And fat-free half & half seems to be an oxymoron!! :)
ReplyDeleteI know Jan, it's like saying "fat-free fat"! :) Fat-free half and half makes no sense to me either. I loved the quinoa for breakfast too...but I must say, it didn't hold me very long. I was hungry again about 2 hours later...so I'm thinking either I need to have it with maybe some chicken sausages on the side for breakfast, or else treat the quinoa dish like a dessert or snack.
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