Slow-Cooker Recipes

 Being a family-of-5, crockpot/slowcooker recipes make life so much easier. What's better than throwing everything in one pot first thing in the morning and by dinner time it's completely ready? Nothing! Except for the fact that there's always leftovers for the next night too!

vintage Crock-pot

One morning, I had The Rachael Ray Show on while putzing around my home doing various household chores. I happened to overhear a few of the ingredients to the recipe she was making and decided, as I often do, to make it a challenge to create my own version. Those ingredients were: chicken, teriyaki sauce, and garlic....and I didn't catch the rest of the ingredients. When I think of teriyaki, I think of food with Asian influences....so I kept that in mind while adding the rest of the ingredients.

Because I have a family of good eaters (with a ratio of 1 male to 4 females), I decided to use a 7 lb oven roaster chicken. If you don't have a slowcooker that will fit a chicken of that size, you can use whatever cuts of chicken you and your family prefer. I didn't take any photos of the bare-naked chicken.....because, let's be honest, they aren't very photogenic. LOL!

I started by pan searing the chicken in a big saute pan with some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil...and another Rachael Ray reference) and some salt and pepper until each side had a golden brown hue.

I added organic green onions, fresh ginger, and honey to this recipe to make it my own

Chop onions (save some for later), grate ginger, and use garlic press for fresh garlic. Set aside.

Place panseared chicken in crockpot. Pour teriyaki sauce (I used roasted garlic flavor) and 1/3 honey bear over chicken. Add in grated ginger, chopped onion, and fresh garlic. Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 5-6 hours. Chicken should be falling off the bones when cut into.

Serve with brown or jasmine rice and mix in remaining chopped green onions. For a veggie, I steamed edamame (sticking with the Asian influenced theme) because my daughters love them and they are fun to eat with your fingers. All and all, my creation was a success and will be made for my family again and again.

            Hope your family enjoys this dish as much as mine!!

                                                                                      Kirsten

        P.S. Pair dish with a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Reisling