Family Favorite Chicken Recipes

We eat a lot of chicken around our house. Therefore, we use a lot of different chicken recipes. The family favorites are ones that are easy and quick to throw together (that would be for the benefit of the mom) and full of yummy flavor (that would be for the kiddos).

On this Recipe Thursday, I decided to share a few of our Family Favorite Chicken Recipes with you all. Half of these recipes are also SLOW COOKER recipes. S'rsly people. These recipes are keepers. If your family eats chicken like our family eats chicken then I would suggest you pin some of these recipes.

In no particular order, here are some of our family favorite chicken recipes.

Slow Cooker Philly Cheese Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken Sliders

Thai Chicken Pizza

Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Mango BBQ Chicken Salad

Chicken Carbonara with Spinach

Slow Cooker Mango Chicken 

Oh man. Now I am hungry. We really do love chicken over here. I am always looking for new recipes to try in hopes of adding to our favorites list. If you have a favorite family chicken recipe, share the link in the comment section. I will love you forever.

Also, if you guys go through chicken like we do, then I have a secret for you.

We buy our chicken through Zaycon Foods. They sell amazing food in bulk at great prices. I have done a post about it HERE. Zaycon Food's top seller is their chicken. This chicken is the best. THE best. I buy it and freeze it and sometimes can it. 

Well guys, right now their chicken event is happening. You seriously need to go and order yourself some chicken. It is $1.89 a pound. Say what!?!?

That is right, $1.89. The most reasonable price for such a high quality chicken. If you have ordered from them in the past, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't, well what are you waiting for?

Head over to Zaycon Foods and order some chicken.

Order some chicken and then give one, two, or all of these recipes a go.

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Zaycon Foods: How Smart Families Buy Big and Save Big

Shredded Chicken Tacos

Do you guys Zaycon? If you don't, oh how you must! I know I have had a couple of sponsored posts recently, but I promise this is a post you really want to read through. I have been a customer of Zaycon Foods for a long time and I believe in it as a mom, wife, cooker, and eater of good food. I highly encourage you to read the whole post (aka not just skim...we all do it) so that you can learn more about this AWESOME company, see first hand how I use some of the products I have ordered, and to get information for the most current food events.

Just trust me. If you like food, you will want to read the whole post.

For those of you who haven't heard of Zaycon Foods, or maybe have, but don't really know much about it, well let me fill you in.

First let me say that gushing about this company is second nature to me. I have talked about Zaycon with friends, family, and at church functions...yes I am that lady. I gush because I believe in the company and the product they provide. I have ordered a lot of their products and I have never been unhappy. They provide fresh and high quality meats and fruit. Fresh from the farm to your table.

Zaycon works directly with local farms who provide high quality product. This allows you to buy quality product in bulk for much less than buying that quality of merchandise at a store. AND let me just tell you, I personally don't feel that the quality I can get a grocery store even comes close to comparing with the product I get from Zaycon.

They have many "events", the fancy way of saying what they are currently selling. I kind of like participating in anything that is an "event", don't you? Not every product is available all the time. They cycle through events. That is the BIG reason why you need to sign up with Zaycon (click on that link right there). When you sign up, they send you information about when events are happening. This allows you to stay in the know about when each event is.

The chicken is their trademark event. The chicken that Zaycon sells is amazing. Amazing I tell you. This is the most popular purchase in our house. When the chicken event comes up, it is kind of like a holiday. Here at our house when the chicken event rolls around, we buy it up real quick. I have canned it. I store it easily in freezer bags. I cook with it all the time. I am gonna be honest with you guys, I can't handle other chicken now. This chicken is so good. On top of the quality, the price is the same if not better than the grocery store. The last chicken event was for $1.89 a pound. CRAZY!

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sliders

The chicken comes straight from the processor and is never frozen. The chicken breasts are huge and 100% naturally that way. No hormones or additives. Sometimes a chicken breast is large enough that I only store one per freezer bag. Each order is for a 40 pound box. We have been known to order two. Yes that is 80 pounds of chicken. I canned half and stored the other half. It was glorious.

I can't say enough good things about this chicken. I will say it again, it has ruined me for grocery store chicken. Best. Chicken. Ever. 

They did just end a chicken event in some areas. I suggest that you head on over to Zaycon and sign up. I have given you a link that has you sign up and just lets them know that you heard about it from me (hence the referral bit). 

Once you sign up you can see what events are currently running and then you are signed up so they can alert you when other events start.

We have ordered their chicken the most. However, like I said earlier, we have ordered many of their products.

We love their peaches and pears. LOVE. Last year we ordered pears and peaches and then we canned them. Well, we canned the ones we didn't scarf down. The peaches were juice dripping from your chin fantastic. The pears were just the perfect ripeness. Not under ripe like ordering in bulk can be sometimes and not over ripe like they had been sitting around.

How to Can Pears

We also ordered bacon from them. This bacon was amazing. I am pretty confidant in saying this bacon ruined me for grocery store bacon too. The order of bacon is rather larger and so we actually split it with some friends.  We froze what I didn't cook and eat right away. I kind of wanted to cry when we used our last package.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Garlic, and Onion

Another product we have ordered is the 93/7 ground hamburger. I love this hamburger because it is lean, but still full of flavor. I actually prefer lean hamburger to ground turkey, so when I can get a high quality 93/7 ground hamburger at a decent price I jump all over it. The order is 40 pounds. We divided it up and stored it in freezer bags. It was perfect.

The 93/7 ground hamburger event is actually going on now!  I know I am sounding like a broken record, but seriously go sign up  and order this awesome hamburger.

Mashed Potato Topped Mini Meatloaves

We have also ordered the hot Gold Medal Beef Franks, the Pork Sausage Links, the Breaded Chicken Tenderloins, and the Natural Non-Homogenized Whole Milk.

I think my next order might have to include the Carvemaster Ham, which is a current event right now! At $3.49 a pound I am not sure I can pass it up.

I haven't listed everything they sell, just what I have ordered. Go and check out all of their products. 

Zaycon Foods really is an amazing company. I really believe they have made it easier and more affordable for me to feed my family higher quality products. They provide a quality product that also tastes way better than anything you will find at a grocery store. I know they can do the same for you and your household.

Whew! I really hope you hung with me during this entire post. Two "raise-the-roof"'s if ya did. Thanks for taking the time to learn about a company I am pretty stoked about. 

Just a refresher-

Current food events are:

93/7 ground hamburger

Carvemaster Ham

I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are mine. 

I have used this company for years, and believe in

the quality product and service they provide. 

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Slow Cooker Saturday: Philly Cheese Chicken Sandwiches

We had family in town for Labor Day Weekend.

There was card playing, a shrimp feast, golf, rain, more golf, shopping, and much much more. All crammed in a few days.

I love cooking when we have guests. Sometimes I go a little overboard. I just really like entertaining guests, and feeding them is kind of the funnest part.

Sometimes though there is so much fun planned that to cook a giant meal doesn't really work out for me. Believe me I have tried. That is when I am oh-so-tardily serving dinner at 8:30. Lovely.

I got all smart with my guests this time. I planned a slow cooker meal for one of the days.

A slow cooker kind of saves my fanny on a weekly basis.

So Sunday, we had these Philly Cheese Chicken Sandwiches.

Let me tell you people...

YUM! I mean seriously YUM!!

When we walked in the house after three hours of church, we all stopped and inhaled a long slow breath. Then we looked at each other and declared how glorious the awaiting dinner smelled. Even Oldest agreed.

The chicken is seasoned perfectly and pairs fabulously with the peppers and onions. I love the mixture of green AND red peppers. Red peppers add just a hint of sweetness. The smoky provolone cheese melts over the top of  the chicken and peppers and makes it a delightfully cheesy sandwich.

How can you  make it better? Well slap it on a pretzel hoagie bun. Bam. Yah I just stepped up this sandwich's game.

This sandwich was a major hit. I even remember seeing my dad soaking up every last bit of filling with extra bits of roll. Yeah he cleaned his plate completely off.

That good, friends. That good.

 

You won't be disappointed that you put this in your weekly rotation. Promise!

Enjoy your slow cooker! Happy Saturday!

Philly Cheese Chicken Sandwiches

adapted from What's Cooking in the Burbs

Printable Recipe

3 chicken breasts, cut into slices
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
3 Tablespoons Montreal Chicken seasoning
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 slices provolone cheese
pretzel hoagie buns or rolls

Coat the bottom of the slow cooker with olive oil. Add in the onions and peppers. Toss to coat with oil.

In a separate bowl, coat the chicken with the Montreal seasoning.

Add the chicken on top of the vegetables.

Cover and cook for 6 hours on low. At the last 30 minutes, uncover and add the sliced provolone over the top. Cover and let cook for the last 30 minutes.

Scoop out onto the pretzel hoagies. Before putting on the top of the hoagie, season the top of the chicken mixture with seasoning salt.

Serve with a side of fries.

Call it a day! A wonderful day at that!

Happy eating!!

 

Slow Cooker Saturday: Shredded Barbeque Chicken Sliders

Any Summer day can be made better with some barbeque chicken, especially a crazy busy Summer day.

I have been a little lax in the cooking department this Summer. We have been ultra busy and all of the sudden the end of the day is there and then BAM my kids start saying they are hungry and before I know it that sneaky little devil dinnertime has snuck on up me.

On the days where I anticipate the impending need for evening nourishment, I bring out the slow cooker and start making dinner before the crazy descends.

Some slow cooker Barbeque Chicken seemed the perfect answer for a busy Summer day.

These little sliders are so scrumptious.

Plus they were very little trouble to whip out.

Cook the chicken slowly and all day long with little to no supervision.

Then shred it up. Soak it up in some sauce. Serve on a roll. Slather in more sauce.

And now it is eating time.

Another Slow Cooker Saturday success. Woot! Woot!

Slow Cooker Shredded Barbeque Sauce
adapted from America's Test Kitchen 

3 chicken breasts
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups brown sugar barbeque sauce (your favorite brand)

Mix the chili powder, paprika, brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the mixture evenly over the chicken and then put the chicken in the slow cooker. Pour 1/2 cup of the barbeque sauce over the chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours until chicken is done.

Take the chicken out and shred and set aside. Skim the fat off the leftover liquid. Mix 1 cup of the liquid with the 1 cup of barbeque sauce. Toss the chicken with the mixture.

Serve on slider rolls.

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Slow Cooker Saturday: Honey Sesame Chicken

Welcome to Slow Cooker Saturday.

I have a super delicious slow cooker recipe for you today.

This dish has quickly become a family favorite. We serve it over a hot helping of steamed rice and top it with fresh and crunchy green onions.

We serve it up family style on a big plate. Then we spoon ourselves a not-so-modest serving onto a plate.

Then we pretty much shovel the food into our mouths in a manner suggesting that we have not eaten in days. 

Oh-so-good.

Sometimes I like to pretend that I have houseful of napkin-toting, fork-using, proper-manners, please-and-thank-you using Little Men.

Then there are times I am just gonna say it like it is...

They inhaled this meal. I am not sure napkins were even considered. I served it up and then the next thing I knew their plates were already empty, their little faces saucy (aka covered in sauce), and they were requesting seconds.

Note to self...double the recipe. I mean the Momma and Daddy have to eat too.

This is a great recipe and should definitely make your Slow Cooker rotation. I promise. This Momma does not take a yummy and family friendly recipe lightly.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
adapted from Your Homebased Mom 

Printable Recipe

2-3 chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
3-4 green onions, sliced

Put the chicken in the crock pot and liberally salt and pepper on both sides.

In a bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil, and sriracha. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Remove chicken and shred. Set aside.

Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Strain the fat off the sauce that is in the slow cooker. Discard the fat and pour the sauce into a small sauce pan. Add in the cornstarch mixture. Cook the sauce over medium high heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes OR until the sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

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AND NOW

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(larissazitzman)

I know I have finally caught up with the times...

aka finally got a free iphone...

Slow Cooker Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sandwiches

First things first people ... I have done it.

For better or worse I put my big girl social media pants on and I joined Twitter.

I am officially ready to Tweet.

Tweet what?

Oh I have no clue.

I am officially ready to hashtag...or should I have just said I am officially ready to #?

Oh good grief. I am in trouble.

I would love it if any of you out there on twitter would  hold my hand follow Just Another Day in Paradise on Twitter and be there with me during this social media journey.

Thanks for being the best readers ever.

You are grand.

On with Slow Cooker Saturday. Another week, another Slow Cooker Recipe.

Can I get a WOOT, WOOT?

I LOVE sandwiches. Pretty much all sandwiches. There are a very few I won't eat...cough...cough...seafood salad sandwiches...ehem....

I love that this recipe was for chicken that was going into a sandwich.

The roasted red pepper and chicken cooked away in the slow cooker with no never-you-mind from me. When it was time to eat, I just had to get the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and spread ready.

Then it all cozied up together and got put on a plate waiting for my undivided attention.

Well, not undivided. I couldn't help but giving some of my attention to these insane homemade Garlic Parmesan Fries (recipe included today).

I felt just like I was eating at a restaurant. Except I didn't have to leave a tip and I had to wash the dishes afterwards. But other than that...yeah it felt like a restaurant.

This is an easy and completely yummy sandwich recipe. Plus you can really switch it up how you like. With the Roasted Red Pepper Chicken as a base you can choose the type of bread. You can choose different spreads. Hidden Valley has these great new spreads that work perfectly on sandwiches (they don't know I am saying that, I just really like their spreads and want to pass on this little gem to other sandwich lovers).

We used the Spicy Chipotle Pepper flavor on one sandwich. We used regular pesto on another.

Both were super tasty.

See, you can switch it up how ya like.

Anyway you make the sandwich it will be tasty. Okay I take that back. You probably won't enjoy the sandwich if you use Peanut Butter as the spread.

This recipe is definitely worth trying.

Slow Cooker Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sandwiches with Garlic Parmesan Fries
Chicken Recipe adapted from Your Homebased Mom

2-3 chicken breasts
1 jar roasted red peppers (about 1 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

spreads--pesto, mayo, pepper spread...
sliced tomatoes
lettuce
bakery style focaccia bread

Place the chicken into a slow cooker and season with salt and pepper. Add in the jar of roasted red peppers.

Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred. Return back to the crock pot and mix.

Make the fries.

Garlic Parmesan Fries

1/2 bag of frozen french fries

3-4 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bake fries according to directions.  Just before the fries are done, stir the garlic and Parmesan cheese into the melted butter.

Drizzle the garlic Parmesan mixture over the fries. Gently toss to coat. Make sure all the fries are coated evenly.

Assemble the sandwiches and serve with a side of fries.

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Slow Cooker Saturday: Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Slow Cooker Saturday has come around once again. Time to get out the crock pots and to make some good old comfort food.

Well comfort food with a twist of course.

I knew I wanted to try and make macaroni and cheese in the crock pot. I also knew I didn't want it to be your regular old mac and cheese.

While my Little men LOVE, and I mean LUHHVVVE macaroni and cheese I tend not to think of it as a meal the whole family enjoys.


I guess I have a hard time thinking of it as the star in the meal time show.

Since this was going to be dinner, I really wanted to make sure that I made an amped up, more main course like mac and cheese.

Challenge extended.
Challenge accepted.
Challenge obliterated.
Boom.
Done.

Meet a little creation I like to call Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese.

This macaroni and cheese is filling, but not too heavy. The lightness of the Monterrey Jack Cheese allows the pasta to be cheesy but not over powering. By marinating the cooked chicken in the sauce before adding it to the mac and cheese, you are assured a sweet yet spicy bite with every spoonful.

The "buffalo" sauce is spicy enough for the adults to notice it, but is perfectly paired with a touch of sweetness so Littles will still enjoy it.

Then of course because we are talking about buffalo chicken, there needed to be a tad of blue cheese mixed in.

All said and done this recipe makes a creamy macaroni and cheese with a touch of something special. Making not your regular run-of-the-mill mac and cheese.

No regular for us, we will take the Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese.

Give it a try. It might just rock your world.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Printable Recipe

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken)
1  cup brown sugar
5 Tablespoons Frank's Hot Sauce
2  Tablespoons water
2-12 oz cans evaporated milk
2-11oz cans of cheddar cheese soup
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (plus extra for garnish)
1 pound elbow macaroni

Make the sauce for marinating the chicken by combining the brown sugar, hot sauce, and water in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium high heat, stirring regularly, until brown sugar dissolves.

Put the shredded chicken in a gallon ziploc bag. Add all but 1/4 cup of sauce. Put chicken in the fridge and let rest for at least 2 hours. Set reserved sauce aside.

In a large sauce pan combine the evaporated milk, cheddar soup, water, salt, pepper, and some of the reserved sauce. Start with 2 tablespoons and work up to the heat level you desire. 2 tablespoons was perfect for our kids.

Bring the mixture to a simmer. Slowly add in the cheeses. Stirring constantly until the cheese is melted and fully incorporated in. Turn off heat.

Add in and stir the macaroni.

Spray the bowl with cooking spray. Then pour in the cheese macaroni mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.

At the end of two hours, stir the macaroni. It it is appearing too thick add in just a little bit of hot water. Then gently fold in the cooked marinated chicken.

Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes or until the chicken is warmed through.

Serve with a sprinkling of more blue cheese.

Thanks for stopping by Slow Cooker Saturday. Have a wonderful weekend!

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Baked Chipotle Chicken Taquitos

In just a few short weeks...eek...BIG eek...we have a birthday party in this house. Bean is turning one. Months and months ago I decided I wanted to throw him a Mexican Fiesta for turning Uno.

Hehehe, sorry I had to.

Anyway.

For my Little Men's first birthdays we have stuck to having families over. I mean for the most part, no one-year-old is hopping on the pre-toddler social scene.

Since we have other families over, I like to throw more of a dinner type party.

Oldest had a western/cowboy themed party with bottled rootbeer and all the fixins.
Middle had a chili/pumpkin painting Halloween party with some very spooky brain cupcakes.
Little had a carnival party with cotton candy and hot dogs.

Now it is time to celebrate Bean. My very last First Birthday Party to throw. In order of my last hoo-rah, I figured a little Fiesta was in order with a full on Mexican food spread.

Besides decoration ideas which I am gathering up in my noggin and on my Mexican Fiesta Pin Board, I am also making a list of possible food to serve.

I am thinking homemade refried beans, a taco bar, chips salsa and guacamole, Cheesy Rice, Jarritos drinks, churros (Maybe even the oh-so-popular Churro Chex Mix), tres leches cupcakes...

Remember how I said we like Mexican food? I probably could keep adding more things onto this party menu.

Like for instance, I could totally add these Baked Chipotle Chicken Taquitos.

These chicken taquitos were quite lovely. The chipotle adds a glorious smoky taste that compliments the slight heat that comes from the chilies and other seasonings. Plus they were baked so I could eat them guilt free. I do enjoy guilt free eating.

My new favorite Mexican cooking ingredient is Mexican cheese. It melts wonderfully and it is dreamy smooth and creamy.

Then you have sour cream with a touch of lime.

All together it is like a fiesta in my mouth.

I used a rotisserie chicken, my go-to time saver. So not only was the meal yummy, but it was fast to make.

Fast meals are always a good idea if you ask me.

You weren't asking me?
Well you should?
I would tell you they are a good idea.

The fam enjoyed these. The heat was a teeny bit much for Little, but he quickly resolved the issue by doubling his serving of sour cream in which to tip his taquitos.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

Baked Chipotle Chicken Taquitos
adapted from The Kitchen  

Printable Recipe

2 Tablespoons butter
3 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I use a store bought rotisserie chicken)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 4oz can diced chilies
24 small flour tortillas or 12 regular
2 cups shredded soft Mexican cheese
1 cup sour cream
Juice of 3 limes and 1 Tablespoon of lime zest

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

Combine chicken, paprika, salt, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle, chili powder, and can of diced chilies.

Melt butter in a skillet. Add in the chicken mixture to the skillet and cook until warmed through.

Warm up a a few flour tortillas at a time by heating them in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Place 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla and top with shredded cheese. Tightly roll each tortilla and place seam side down on foil-lined baking sheet.

Fill all the tortillas shells and roll them the same way. Place them all on the baking sheet. Coat the tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

While they are baking, mix the sour cream with the lime juice and zest. Set aside.

Serve the baked taquitos with a side of lime sour cream.

Ole'.

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Take-Out Style Chicken Lo Mein

Noodles, noodles, noodles.

I love noodles. Not necessarily pasta...but noodles.

Lo Mein. Chow Mein. Love.

Good Chinese take-out makes me happy.

Sometimes it is hard to find good noodles.

So when you can't find good take-out, well you just need to do a fake-out at home.

Can't find the good noodles well then we shall make them.

Thank heavens for Yaki Soba noodles. They are refrigerated prepackaged noodles found in the same area as the wonton wrappers.

They make homemade take-out noodles divine.

Thanks to the prepackaged noodles, a rotisserie chicken, and a handful of other easy to find ingredients, this meal comes together super fast.

A super fast AND super yummy meal.

Yes, please. I will have seconds.

On a side note, I had to do a little research to determine if what I was making was Chow Mein or Lo Mein.

I discovered that Lo Mein is tossed noodles, while Chow Mein is fried noodles.

Now I know. Now you know, if you didn't already of course.

Now I don't have to be disgruntled that I haven't found a good Chinese restaurant yet.

I can have a Chinese restaurant right in my own home. Woohoo!

Chicken Lo Mein
adapted from Favorite Family Recipes 

Printable Recipes

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4-5 small packages of Yaki Soba noodles (there are 3 in each 17oz  regular sized package)
2/3  cup chopped celery (cut diagonally)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups chopped cabbage
1-2 cups shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken

In a small boy combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Set aside.

Remove the noodles from the packages and throw away the flavor packets. Rinse the noodles and drain.

Heat oil in a large wok. Add the celery and the onion. Saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to become soft and translucent. Add cabbage and saute the mixture for another minute.

Toss the noodles, chicken, and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables over medium high heat for another 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are heated through.

Serve. Enjoy.        

Slow Cooker Saturday: Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken

Slow Cooker Saturday is here. We are gonna make it short and sweet today.

My witty banter and wise insights...okay pretty much just the banter...is going to be in short supply today. I am sure you are super disappointed. Hahaha.

Today we have Oldest's non-party-birthday-celebration which has turned into a little more of a party than first anticipated. I have no idea who's fault that is...

Hubby is pointing at me.

Yup, my fault.

My brain is fuzzy and full of check lists.

Since my head is unable to put together a coherent thought, I am going to tell you...

...this meal is yummy.
...this meal is easy
...this meal is a hit with kiddos

So before I fall asleep and my face gets a keyboard impression in it, I will share this week's slow cooker recipe with you.

ENJOY!

Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken
adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff 

2-3 large chicken breasts
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 white vinegar
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup diet lemon lime soda
2 heaping Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
white rice
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Place chicken inside the slow cooker. Mix the brown sugar, vinegars, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper together. 

Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

Take pieces out and gently shred into larger pieces. Set aide.

Pour the sauce into the saucepan. Place the pan over high heat. Mix the cornstarch and water together. Whisk into the sauce pan.

Let the sauce come to a boil and let it boil for 2-3 minute, or until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and let it sit for a couple more minutes to thicken even more.

Pour the reserved sauce over the chicken and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and stir again.

Serve over rice.

Enjoy friends! Thanks for letting me keep it brief today, have a great weekend! 
              

Slow Cooker Saturday: Mango Chicken with Coconut Rice

 
Welcome, welcome. Another Slow Cooker Saturday. Yum. Yum.

This week's recipe is a family favorite. I have actually posted it before...but WAIT...don't go and look. The pictures may or may not be pretty...pretty terrible.

The recipe is fantastically yummy, therefore I do believe it deserved a prettier picture of itself.

I mean if you saw a somewhat horrible picture of yourself aka like this:

(AHHHHH!!! Close your eyes! Quickly.)

Wouldn't you prefer this picture take it's place:

Doesn't one of our favorite recipes deserve some better photos?

Yeppers it sure does. You are welcome Mango Rice with Coconut Rice, you are welcome.

There are two glorious things about this recipe.

Glorious thing 1: So easy to make.
Glorious thing 2: Coconut rice, coconut rice, coconut rice.

The chicken itself is the slow cooker part. It is simply combining ingredients, cooking, shredding, and adding a little more umph at the end.

The rice takes a little more work, but you can make it during the last slow cooker step and it is so glorious.

How glorious you ask?

Glorious enough that when ever we have rice for dinner my Little Men always ask, "Is it the coconut rice?" When I say no they try to hide their disappointment. Not well, but they try.

To make the rice you melt some butter in a large skillet.
Then you add a little bit of brown sugar and salt and stir until all dissolved.
The rice comes next and gets a nice stirring to coat.

Once the rice is coated you add in the coconut milk and water.
Stir, bring to a boil and then cover. Cook on low for a time.
While it cooks, take some coconut and toast it up.

After 20 minutes it is all lov-er-lee and yummy. 

Just perfect for eating with some Mango Chicken.

See how happy it is now that it can show it's pretty side?

You will be oh-so-happy if you put this on your dinner rotation. Trust me!

So here friends is the recipe for you.

Mango Chicken with Coconut Rice

Printable Recipe

2-3 chicken breasts
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 can black bean, rinsed and drained
3 1/2 cups mango salsa (we have used Costco's brand and Sabra's brand)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sweetened coconut, toasted

Place the chicken in a slow cooker. Season with the cumin, lemon pepper, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

Shred the chicken and remove the liquid from the slow cooker. Discard the liquid. Put the chicken back into the slow cooker. Add in the corn, beans and salsa. Stir to coat. Cover and cook for another 30-40 minutes.

While it is cooking, make the coconut rice.

Melt the butter in a large and somewhat deep skillet. Add in the brown sugar and salt. Stir until it is dissolved. Turn the heat to high and add in the rice. Stir the rice and coat. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.

Then add in the coconut milk and water. Stir. Bring the mixture to a low boil. Then cover and turn to low. Cook for 20 minutes.

Toast the coconut in a small pan or in the oven just until golden.

After the 20 minutes, remove from the heat. Keep covered and let it set for another 5 minutes.

Fluff. Serve topped with Mango Chicken. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Eat.
Be happy.

Linking Here:

Be Different Act Normal,
Your Homebased Mom

Slow Cooker Saturday: Hawaiian Chicken Sliders

Welcome to Slow Cooker Saturday! Hopefully you have been visiting and keeping track of all of these delicious slow cooker recipes. Hopefully you have put some into your meal rotation, and hopefully you have loved whatever you have tried.

I am really enjoying getting to know my slow cooker, we were estranged for quite a while. It is good to be on speaking terms again.

For many of you tomorrow is a pretty big deal. The two deemed "best" football teams in the United States battle against each other to determine who is, for this year, the best national football team.

I have heard that this is a pretty big deal...

More importantly than the football, rumor has it that this is also a day for mass quantities of finger foods, snack platters, and all together grazing merriment. 

Perfect, that is my idea of a good day...well, take or leave the professional football. College football, for sure. Professional, eh not so much.

Anyway back to the food...I will stick to my forte.

These sliders are ah-mazing. Like sauce dripping off your chin amazing. Like lick your fingers, forgo the napkin amazing.

So basically, I liked them a whole lot. 

The chicken is delightful. The sauce.....

Oh heavens, the sauce...

I have had similar reactions to sauce before, like with the Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken. I guess I am a sucker for good sauces.

Another thing that makes this sandwich so awesome is the glazed pineapple that tops the shredded chicken. I am growing fond of putting pineapple on sliders. I have used marinated pineapple before in my Banzai Sliders. 

This glazed pineapple was heavenly and it was super easy to glaze the rings.

A couple of tablespoons of butter go swimming in a saute pan.

While the butter is melting, sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of brown sugar on the top of each pineapple ring. I pressed the sugar into the pineapple a bit.

Place brown sugar side down in the butter. Let that side warm and almost caramelize. While that side is cooking, sprinkle another teaspoon of brown sugar over the top of each ring.

Flip the pineapple ring over and cook the other side until both sides are golden and glazed like this.

See doesn't the pineapple ring seem to complete the little slider.

Chicken: Pineapple, you complete me...

Pineapple: Yeah, I know!

Sweet Hawaiian Roll: Don forget me. You two wouldn't be any kind of slider with out me.

Sorry about that. I had no idea they were going to start chatting it up.

This little slider makes a perfect dinner. It is a perfect party appetizer. You could serve it, at say, a really important sporting event...

I think we all know what I am talking about...

The table tennis quarterfinals.

Uh, I mean the Super Bowl.

Yeah, that is what I meant.

Happy Slow Cooker Saturday.

Hawaiian Chicken Sliders
adapted from Cooking Classy

Printable Recipe

2 large chicken breasts
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 1/2 teaspoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon cold water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
glazed pineapple rings
10-12 Hawaiian rolls

Glazed Pineapple
10-12 pineapple rings (fresh or canned)
2 teaspoons of brown sugar per ring
1-2 Tablespoons of butter

In a bowl, whisk together ketchup, pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, molasses, coconut extract, ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Set it aside.

Strain the sauce from the crock pot with a fine mesh strainer, separating the fat from the liquid. Discard the fat, keep the liquid. Whisk together the cold water and cornstarch in a small sauce pan. Pour into the main sauce. Then whisk in the tomato sauce until everything is combined. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Reduce and simmer for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Return the chicken to the slow cooker and pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes.

Split the Hawaiian rolls in half, top with a heaping spoonful of shredded chicken and a ring of glazed pineapple.

Enjoy!

ALSO, I wanted you guys to know that I finally got my act together and added a Slow Cooker category to my Recipe Index. Now all the slow cooker fun can be found in one place. Yippee!

Linking: 

Your Homebased Mom, Be Different Act Normal,
CraftOManiac, CRAFT,
Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire,
Skip To My Lou