What's For Dinner Wednesday: Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

I am a big fan of the slow cooker during a busy week.  There is nothing better than coming home after a long day at the office and knowing that dinner is basically done and waiting for us.  With all the work travel and holiday festivities and bed bug issues that we've been dealing with lately I have been trying to keep dinner as low maintenance as possible.

I pulled my slow cooker out last night and tried a new recipe that has the Pinterest and blog world buzzing.  It did not disappoint!  I actually think that this may be one of the best slow cooker chicken recipes that I have tried in quite some time.  I prepped the sauce the night before and thawed the chicken so that this morning all I had to do was add both (and some salt and pepper) to the slow cooker, set it, and go.  I came home tonight and stir fried some veggies and boiled some rice and that was it.  The chicken was moist and had a really delicious flavor.  It also made enough for 2-3 hearty leftover portions.  Love it!

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• Salt and pepper
• Cooking spray or extra virgin olive oil
  1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup honey 
• 2 Tbs. ketchup
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  1/2 Tbs. canola oil
• 1/2 Tbs. sesame oil
  1 tsp. Sriracha
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp. sesame seeds
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 cups brown rice, for serving
• Stir fried vegetables, for serving *I used broccoli, red bell pepper, and carrots

Lightly spray the bottom of the slow cooker. Arrange chicken in the slow cooker and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oils, and sriracha. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. After cooking is complete, remove chicken to a cutting board, leaving the sauce in the slow cooker. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved and add to the sauce in the slow cooker. Stir well to combine. Cook the sauce on high for 10-15 more minutes-- stirring occasionally-- or until slightly thickened.

Add cooked rice to plates, top with chicken and spoon sauce over the top to taste. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.  Serve with stir fried vegetables and enjoy.


Original recipe courtesy of Six Sisters Stuff