Slow Cooker Saturday: Teriyaki Chicken

Welcome to my first every Slow Cooker Saturday.

Oooh...Are you as excited as I am?

Saturdays around the blog are often slow and a little spotty at best. I had been searching for something more concrete to share with you lovely readers on Saturdays and then when I did my 2012 round up and noticed how viewed the recipes are, I did a little brainstorming and came up with...

Dun-DA-duh...

Slow Cooker Saturdays.

Slow cooker meals and I don't know each other as well as I would like. In the past, I have struggled to find recipes that I enjoy and like serving to my family.

The ones I do like, my tried and true slow cooker recipes I have already shared on the blog. Like French Dip Sandwiches, Mango Chicken with Coconut Rice, Rootbeer Pulled Pork, Chicken Enchilada Soup, and Tex Mex Shredded Pork Burritos.

I am hoping to try some new ones and on Saturdays I will share the ones that we have loved.

Another perk about Slow Cooker Saturdays is that when if you see a recipe that looks good, you can check your pantry, run to the store, and put it on the menu for Sunday. Slow cooker recipes make for perfect Sunday meals.

On this the first Slow Cooker Saturday, I am sharing this recipe for Teriyaki Chicken, which was, if I might say, to.die.for.

The Teriyaki sauce was insane. Insane I tell you.

I may or may not have "quality checked" like a fourth of the chicken before we even had dinner.

When all the chicken had been dished up and eaten I asked my Little Men for the thumbs up or the thumbs down. There were absolutely no thumbs down. This Momma's dream come true. A yippee dance ensued.

So basically, I am pretty sure I recommend this recipe.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
adapted from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Printable Recipe

2-3 chicken breasts, each cut in half
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon minced (or ground) ginger
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 1/2 teaspoons cold water

Place the chicken into a slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and pepper. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours then turn the chicken over and cook for 1 hour on low.

Remove the chicken from the liquid and tear the chicken into smaller pieces, but do not shred. Cover and keep warm.

Strain the liquid from the crock pot into a sauce pan. Whisk the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. Bring the sauce to a boil and then slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue to heat the sauce until it thickens.

Pour some of the sauce over the chicken to evenly coat. Serve chicken over rice and top with more teriyaki sauce.

YUM!

I hope you look forward to more slow cooker recipes and are as excited as I am to expand my slow cooker recipe box. Now, I don't want you to think that because I am including another recipe posting day that the blog is turning into a recipe blog.

The blog will continue to have project, parties, sewing, and such. I mean a girl can't give up her sewing machine now can she? In fact, I have a couple of projects currently in the works that I am hoping to share with you next week.

Thanks for being the best readers!

Oh...if you have any favorite slow cooker recipes, I would love for you to share them! Just drop me an email.

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Thai Chicken Pizza

You know the really corny, yet accurate saying, "If you want God to laugh, tell him your plans"?

I feel as of late that I am experiencing my own version of that over here. More than laugh at me, I feel that my Father in Heaven is trying to tell me to slow down, knock it off, take it easy, and as a friend recently admonished me, take it down a notch.

When October rolls around, I start making a never ending list of things to do all in the name of celebration and holidays. So once December hits, I am on a little bit of project burn out. At the same time, that is when all the ideas are coming. I also really enjoy with coming up with create gift ideas to make.

In my mind, I have plenty of time and of course I have the best time management skills...cough...cough...It doesn't matter that I have yet to actually use that time management over previous holiday seasons.

This year will be different I think to myself. I will get what I can done during the day and happily sew at night. I will not fall exhausted onto the couch cursing my sewing machine. I will get all the gifts done and mailed by the 15th. I will then be able to spend the last 10 days before Christmas baking, singing, and all around merriment-making with my loved ones.

This year more than any previous, things have not gone as planned.

Yes, this is my first Christmas with four kids, but truth be told, they are really good kids and the four kids card alone I can't use as an excuse.

HOWEVER, when all four of the sweet little cherub faces take alternating turns getting sick, well that is a valid excuse for things not getting done.

Everyone but me was sick over Thanksgiving week.

Then almost two weeks ago Oldest got croup. Over the next two weeks that or other illness have cycled through all the kiddos, and this time me. Ugh it is germ-tastic over here.

We have not left the house in days.

I have decided this is His way of telling me to cool it, and I have decided to try not to stress about it.

We will stay in our jams. I will work on stuff here and there, but presents might be late...sorry Moms. We watch movies and will have hot cocoa, popcorn, and pizza.

Probably not necessarily together.

Pizza is kind of a staple in our house and is the perfect thing to make when you need to just chillax and take it down a notch.

This Thai Chicken Pizza is just about the most perfect homemade pizza.

Now, I will say my Little Men are not really adventurous and don't eat this pizza. Now, sometimes I am annoyed when they won't eat what I make, but in this case I am more than happy to make them a regular cheese pizza and just have this one for the Hubs and I.

The sweet red chili sauce is one of my favorite parts. I am not a big marinara fan and whenever a pizza has an alternative sauce I get pretty happy. This pizza is lighter on the cheese and heavier on the veggie goodness.

My next favorite part, the peanuts on top. Yum. Yum.

As I write this I am reminded that I have some leftover in the fridge and I am seriously debating whether or not I need a second breakfast...I mean the saying is "feed a cold" right??

Since I haven't been able to exercise all week, I should probably leave it in the fridge...

Probably...

The great thing about this recipe is that the dough recipe used makes two crusts, so you can use one for this super yummy adult-friendly Thai Chicken Pizza and you can use the other crust for a simple cheese pizza for the kiddos.

A win, win for everyone involved. Pizza is always a good idea. Pizza is a great slow down, take it down a notch dinner.

Enjoy. I hope all of you are finding moments to take it easy during this busy holiday season. I would love your secrets to success! I need all the help I can get.

In return I will give you the yummiest pizza recipe. Deal?

Deal!

Thai Chicken Pizza
adapted from Annie's Eats

Print Here


1 recipe Pizza Dough (below)
1/4 cup sweet Asian chili sauce, plus extra
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 medium to large zucchini, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken*

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup small carrot slivers
3 Tablespoons chopped peanuts
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

Make pizza dough.

When the dough is done rising, preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Roll out the pizza dough into rounds. Brush the perimeter with olive oil. Spread the chili sauce evenly over the top. The layer with first the green onions, zucchini, chicken, cheese, and carrots.

Bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown, between 10-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for a minute.

Sprinkle the top evenly with the cilantro and peanuts. Then drizzle more chili sauce over the top.

*I love to use rotisserie chicken.

Pizza Dough:
1/2 cups warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup room temperature water
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Measure warm water in a bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the top. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and the salt. Measure room temperature water and add to the yeast/water mixture.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly incorporate the water mixture and the olive oil into the dry ingredients.

Mix until it is well combined and the dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead the dough in the mixture on medium-low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Coat the dough. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size. Roughly 1 1/2 hours**.

Punch the dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Shape dough with a rolling pin into two round pizza crusts. Transfer to a pizza stone. Brush edges with olive oil.

**Here is a great trick I learned for cutting the raising time in half, run the dryer on the fastest cycle. When it is done (and empty), place the bowl of dough uncovered in the warm dryer and then shut the door. The warm heat left over from the drying cycle with make that dough rise in half the time. Yippee, who couldn't use that?

Thanks for stopping by Friends!

BBQ Chicken Salad

Super sweet and to the point today. I am about to lose my ever lovin' mind over here. We are about 8 days from packing it in and driving out of the great state of Ohio. AHHHH!

I am feeling the time crunch. I am feeling the rush. My heart is all a flutter, and not in the way me, myself and I a sixteen-year-old girl feels when she sees Robert Pattinson. The kind of flutter that leads to an anxiety attack. Ya' know...that kind of flutter.

The good news is...a girl still has to eat. So I might as well make something yummy.

Today I am sharing this pretty simple recipe I tweaked from one of my recipe pinterests. This recipe comes together quick. The only special ingredients you might need are in the dressing. You all know how I feel about salads for the Summer.

I hope you enjoy. I sure did. It was a bright spot in the crazy of my day.

BBQ Chicken Salad ...I know original name


ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup your favorite BBQ sauce for marinating the chicken

1 head romaine lettuce
1 head green leaf lettuce

corn-black bean mixture:


1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
1/2 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2-2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed
salt & pepper to taste

dressing:

2/3 cup mayonnaise1/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 to 1/3 cup BBQ sauce


extra sauce for grilling chicken


Marinate chicken for 4 hours. At the same time, make your corn-black bean mixture. Mix the first five corn-black bean ingredients in a bowl. Then stir in the beans and corn. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let set in the refrigerator the same time as the chicken.


Combine all the ingredients for the dressing by either whisking vigorously or in a blender. Refrigerate until ready to serve.


When chicken is done marinating, grill. Brush with extra BBQ sauce.


Once chicken is done, let rest for five minutes. Then slice.


Combine lettuce and corn-black bean mixture. Then lay chicken over the top. Drizzle with dressing. 


Serve and say, "YUM". Okay so you don't actually need to say "YUM", but everyone will be thinking it.