Crockpot Hoisin Chicken

 
I love my crockpot, but I have to be honest, I have a hard time finding good chicken recipes for it.  So often the chicken ends up really dry.  Whenever that happens I am so disappointed, but I'm not willing to give up on chicken in the crockpot.  When I saw Cookin Canuck's recipe for Hoisin Chicken in the crockpot I immediately gave it a try.  It was super juicy and the flavor was good, but I made a few tweaks to suit my family's tastes and to minimize dishes (my favorite thing).

For those of you who aren't familiar with Hoisin sauce, it is a thick, dark, sweet sauce used in Chinese cooking.  My first introduction to Hoisin sauce was as a little girl with the minced chicken lettuce wraps at Panda Inn, yum yum!  It is the star of this Crockpot Hoisin Chicken, but the soy sauce, ginger, and chili garlic sauce keep it from being too sweet.

It has been super hot here so the crockpot allows us to have a delicious homemade dinner without me standing over a hot stove or heating up our house with the oven.  This Crockpot Hoisin Chicken is also incredibly easy to make.  

Start out by spraying your crockpot with cooking spray and then putting some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the bottom.  To be honest, I'm not sure if you need the cooking spray, but I always use it when I'm cooking with my crockpot to make for an easy clean up. 

In a large liquid measuring cup combine your sauce ingredients.  You will need soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chicken stock, a little bit of honey, some minced ginger (I used a frozen cube from Trader Joe's), and some chili garlic sauce.  We don't like things very salty so I used low-sodium soy sauce and chicken stock.  Mix all of your sauce ingredients together and then pour it over the chicken.

Put the lid on and cook on low until the chicken is cooked through.  The amount of time will depend on your crockpot and how big your chicken breasts are.  It took mine about 2 1/2 hours.  Once the chicken is cooked through, take it out of the crockpot to shred it. 

Combine some corn starch and water and then stir it into the sauce in your crockpot.  Add the shredded chicken back in, give it a good stir, and continue to cook for about 30 more minutes so that the chicken can absorb some more of that delicious flavor.  If you are nervous about dry chicken because your crockpot has let you down in the past, do not worry.  Look how juicy that chicken is!

I served mine with our favorite brown rice and quinoa blend and some steamed broccoli.  This chicken is so flavorful and delicious.  The next day I made a little salad with the leftovers, some lettuce, a little rice vinegar, some extra Hoisin, and a few peanuts.  No matter what you pair with this Hoisin chicken, it is absolutely delicious!

Crockpot Hoisin Chicken
Adapted From Cookin Canuck 
 

• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbls. honey
• 1 tsp. minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
• 2 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbls. cornstarch
• 2 tbls. water

1. Spray your crock pot with cooking spray and place chicken in the bottom.
2. In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup combine soy sauce, hoisin, sauce, chicken broth, honey, ginger, and chili garlic sauce.  Pour over the chicken.
3. Cook on low 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until cooked through.
4. Remove the chicken and shred it.
5. Combine the cornstarch and water and stir it into the sauce.  Put the chicken back in the crockpot and continue to cook about 30 more minutes so it has a chance to absorb the sauce.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

I love meals that can be made ahead.  If they freeze well too, bestill my heart.  While I always love a good casserole, when the temperatures drop I love them even more.  A couple of years back I discovered this Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole on Picky Palate.  I couldn't find the wild rice she recommended so I made a substitution and then a few more tweaks.  It quickly became one of my favorites.  This recipe is a little more time consuming to prepare, but it can all be made ahead and then just popped in the oven before dinner.  It is also super easy to double so you can get two wonderful meals without having to do the work twice.  I like to make a double batch of this Chicken & Rice Casserole on the weekend for a delicious Sunday dinner, and then freeze one to bring a little weekend goodness to a busy weeknight.

The cheese sauce in this Chicken & Rice Casserole is homemade, but I take a little shortcut with this super yummy Quinoa & Brown Rice mix.

I buy mine at Costco in a 6-pack but you can get it at Target and Wal-Mart too.  Start out by microwaving your rice according to the instructions on the package and then set it aside.

Chop up some onion, carrot, and celery and saute them in a large pot with a little olive oil.  Once the vegetables are softened, add in a good amount of minced garlic and saute for about a minute more.

Stir in the pre-cooked rice, a few cups of chopped up rotisserie chicken, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  This recipe is deliciously garlicky, but not overly so.

While your veggies are sauteing, make your cheese sauce.  Melt half a stick of butter in a medium saucepan.  Whisk in an equal amount of flour along with a little salt and pepper.  Pour in two cups of chicken stock and continue to whisk until the sauce starts to thicken.  Stir in some shredded cheddar and Monterrey jack cheeses until they are melted.

Pour the cheese sauce over the rice mixture and stir until everything is well coated.  Pour it all into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Top with some more shredded cheese because cheese is delicious.

  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Look at that bubbly goodness.  This Chicken & Rice Casserole is comfort food at its finest.  The layered garlic flavors from the garlic, garlic powder, and rice blend give an incredible depth of flavor.  Combine that with the creamy, cheesy goodness of the sauce and the slight bite from the veggies and you have casserole perfection.  Dinner is served!

Chicken & Rice Casserole
Adapted from Picky Palate

For the casserole: 

• 2-4 tbls. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
•  4-6 cloves garlic, minced
•  3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 (8.5 oz) packages Seeds of Change Quinoa & Brown Rice with Garlic   
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

For the sauce:

• 4 tbls. butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper 
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, divided

1. Microwave your rice according to the package instructions.
2. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat and saute onion, carrots, and celery, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 15 minutes).   Add in the garlic and saute for another minute.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, make your cheese sauce:  Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Whisk in flour, salt, and pepper and continue to cook over medium-high heat for about a minute.  Add in chicken stock, continuing to whisk until sauce starts to thicken.  Stir in 1 1/3 cups of cheddar and 1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheeses until melted.
4. Add the chicken, rice/quinoa blend, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the pot with the vegetables.  Stir to combine.
5. Pour in cheese sauce and stir until everything is coated.  Then pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  
6. Top with the remaining 2/3 cup cheddar and 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheeses and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

*You can also divide this into two square baking dishes and freeze one for another time. 


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Light Chicken Fried Rice

On my work days I want to get dinner made in the shortest amount of time with minimal dishes.  This recipe is perfect for that because it is a one-pot meal that includes protein (chicken), vegetables (peas and carrots), and a grain (rice).  You make the rice in advance because cold rice absorbs the flavors better so you can have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes.  When I make this I use a big cutting board so I can dice up my carrots, ginger, garlic, and shallot before I start anything else.  Then I just add in each pile as I need it.

This has all of the yummy flavors of chicken fried rice but with brown rice, bigger chunks of chicken, and minimal oil so it is healthier for you.  Years ago I saw a recipe for chicken fried rice with bok choy in cooking light magazine.  I adapted it back then to be more in line with my picky husband's tastes and a little bit more streamlined.  Over the years, I've tweaked it here or there and now it is one of those recipes I keep in the back of my mind and can throw together when I need a quick meal.

During naptime (or even the day before) make 4 servings of brown rice according to the package instructions.  I use Uncle Ben's Fast & Natural instant brown rice.  Then put it in the fridge until you are ready to make dinner.

Cut some boneless, skinless chicken into bite-size chunks.  I use chicken breast tenders.  Toss the chicken with 1 tbls. of soy sauce to coat.  Then set it aside.

Dice up some carrots, put them in a microwave safe bowl with a few tablespoons of water, and microwave covered for about 6 minutes.  You can use frozen carrots instead, but we always have carrots around for snack-time so I just use fresh.

In a skillet large enough to make the whole meal, heat some vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Then add some chopped shallots, garlic, and fresh ginger.  If you don't have any shallots, I've added extra garlic and some onion powder in a pinch and it was still really good.  You can also use a few generous shakes of powdered ginger if you don't have fresh.  The fresh is better, but sometimes I think I have some in my freezer and it turns out I don't so powdered it is.

Saute this for a few seconds until it starts to be fragrant then add in the chicken.  Saute the chicken for about 4 minutes, flipping it around so that it cooks on all sides.

Then add in your rice, the rest of the soy sauce, and a little sesame oil.  Cook for about 1 minute stirring constantly.

Add in some frozen peas and the carrots you microwaved earlier.  Stir frequently and cook for about 2 minutes.

Push the rice mixture to one side of the pan and crack an egg into the empty side of the pan, quickly scrambling it.  Let the egg cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute or until almost set, then stir it in to the rice mixture.

Dinner is ready.  I serve this with extra soy sauce on the side.  If you're lucky and have any leftovers, this is really good reheated for lunch the next day.  We usually devour this though so I almost never get to pack it for lunch.

Light Chicken Fried Rice
Loosely Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size chunks
• 3 tbls. low-sodium soy sauce, divided
• 1 tbls. canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• 4 servings cooked, cooled brown rice
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 large carrots, chopped 
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 egg

1. Toss the chicken with 1 tbls. soy sauce to coat.
2. Put carrots in a small microwave-safe bowl with a few tbls. of water and microwave, covered, on high for 5 - 6 minutes.
3. In a large, deep skillet heat the canola oil over medium-high heat.  Then add the shallots, garlic and ginger and saute for about 10 seconds.
4. Add in chicken and saute for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add rice, the rest of the soy sauce, and the sesame oil to the chicken mixture and stir constantly for about 1 minute.
6. Stir in the frozen peas and the microwaved carrots and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
7. Push the rice mixture to one side of the pan and crack the egg into the empty space, quickly scrambling it.  Cook for about 1 minute, or until almost set, stirring constantly, then mix into rice mixture.
8. Serve with extra soy sauce on the side if desired. 

I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Moonlight & Mason Jars, T.G.I.F.,  Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Weekend Potluck, and Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Funday, Busy Monday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tips & Tricks, Create Link Inspire, Mad Skills, Lou Lou Girls, Made By Me, Whimsy Wednesday, Wake Up Wednesdays, Wednesday Whatsits, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Pin It Thursday, and Create It Thursday.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

With the approach of spring we have been using our grill a lot.  I recently bought a few limes for a pork recipe but we ended up doing something else with it instead.  I didn't want them to go to waste and then I remembered this chicken recipe that I used to make by doctoring up some Lawry's marinade.  I played around with it and made it using all fresh ingredients.   The result was super juicy chicken with a fresh and vibrant flavor.  

To make the marinade zest and juice 3 limes.  Add in olive oil, minced garlic, and some salt & pepper.  Then roughly chop up some cilantro and stir it in.

Put your chicken (I used breast tenders) in a large ziploc and pour the marinade on top.  Seal the bag and then massage the marinade into the chicken.  Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.  I prepped mine during Lucas's afternoon nap so it marinated for about 3 1/2 hours.

When you are ready for dinner, grill the chicken over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side.  This chicken is really versatile.  It is great with just brown rice and veggies.  Or you can saute some red bell peppers and onions and eat it like fajitas. 

Cilantro Lime Chicken

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
• zest and juice of 3 limes (about 1/4 cup lime juice)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

1. Combine all ingredients except chicken.  
2. Put chicken in a large ziploc bag and pour marinade on top.
3. Massage marinade into the chicken and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Remove from marinade and grill over medium heat until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes flipping once halfway through.

I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Create It Thursday, Get Him Fed Friday, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Show Stopper Saturday, Inspiration Monday, Craftastic Monday, Busy Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Monday Funday, Two Cup Tuesday, Lou Lou Girls, Tips & Tricks, Mad Skills, Create Link Inspire, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, Made By Me, Whimsy Wednesday, Wednesday Whatsits, Wake Up Wednesdays, and Pin It Thursday.

Vermouth Chicken

Over the last couple of years I made a concerted effort to get out of my dinner rut and try new recipes.  This has been great, but it also made me forget about some really wonderful meals that I used to make often and my family really loves.  This chicken is one of those.  It's a recipe I got from my mom, I think she clipped it out of a newspaper when I was a kid so it is definitely not a new recipe.  I cut down on the bouillon because I don't like things too salty and I used boneless skinless breast tenders because they are easy.  My mom always used bone-in chicken because it is more flavorful.

Recently I needed a quick and easy dinner recipe and saw the bottle of vermouth in the cupboard.  As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what we were having for dinner.  Luckily this recipe is made with items that I almost always have on hand.  The alcohol cooks out so don't worry about serving this to kids (or pregnant mamas).

When I went to make dinner I realized that I had forgotten to defrost the chicken, whoops!  Luckily I have the Costco size bag of frozen tenders which defrost quickly.  Mine were still a little frozen when I put them in the oven but they still cooked perfectly. 

Start out by putting a stick of butter, some chopped fresh parsley, dried basil, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, a chicken bouillon cube, some vermouth, and minced garlic in a small saucepan over low heat.  Stir occasionally until the butter is melted.   At this point your kitchen will smell delicious and if you are anything like me, you will be seriously tempted to drink the sauce.  I forgot to take pictures of this step, sorry.

Put the chicken in a glass baking dish coated with cooking spray.  I used my toaster oven so I wouldn't heat up my house so I used two 8 x 8 pans.  Normally, I use a 9 x 13 pan.   Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, basting with the sauce every 10 minutes or so.  Keep in mind that oven temperatures vary so check your chicken and make sure it is cooked through.

This chicken is so moist and delicious!  I always serve it with either brown rice or orzo and then spoon some of the sauce over it.  This night we had green beans that I put sauce on too.   Seriously, make this tonight.  You will thank me!

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Vermouth Chicken

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
• 1 stick butter
• 2 tbls. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbls. dried, or 2 tbls. fresh, basil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup dry vermouth 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

1. Combine butter, parsley, basil, lemon juice, paprika, bouillon, vermouth, and garlic in a saucepan.  Heat over low heat until butter melts.
2. Put chicken in a big glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, pour sauce on top.
3. Put in 350 degree oven.
4. Bake about 30 minutes, or until done, basting with sauce every 10 minutes.

I'm linking up with Retro Repin, Marvelous Monday,  Mad Skills Party, Tasteful Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesday, Made By Me, Creative Wednesdays, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wake Up Wednesday, Wonderful Food Wednesday, Less Laundry More Linking, Pin it Thursday,  Pin Junkie,  Tasty Thursdays, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Weekend Potluck, Show Stopper Saturday, Show Us How You Rock, Sweet & Savoury Sundays, and Sunday Linky.

Greek Chicken & Couscous *Updated*

It's dinnertime...

So I don't know about you gals but dinner is tough.  Jake has an early bedtime, Josh doesn't always come home from work at the same time, and we need to fit a bath in after dinner is over.  Added to that, something about me cooking makes Jake suddenly need my time, attention, or help.  Baby #2 is only going to add to the difficulty as you moms out there know.  With all of that, we still are committed to having family dinner most nights so I've had to find a few ways to make that possible.

One of those ways is nothing new or revolutionary, it's simply to keep dinner quick and easy.  That's where tonight's dinner comes in.  The chicken gets marinated the night before, then grilled up either on the bbq if hubby is home early to do it, or on the grill pan if he'll be pulling into the garage while I'm plating up our dinner.  The couscous combines a side dish and vegetable in one and is relatively hands off making it perfect for me.  Dinner goes from fridge to plate in about 20 minutes and is pretty healthy too.  Those two factors make this a regular feature on our weekly menus.  I hope you like it too.

I wish I had some process pictures for the Greek chicken for you but I have to be honest, I'm having a tough time with chicken during this pregnancy.  I had to have my husband prep the chicken because otherwise, we might have to stop eating chicken again (we spent about a month and a half off chicken during my first trimester). 

Start out with some chicken tenders in a ziploc bag.  Add some olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped red onion, chopped shallots (if you don't have a shallot, don't stress, it will still be good), a good amount of oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.  Once you have sealed the bag, massage it in with your hands and then stick it in the fridge.  Do this a couple more times between when you stick it in the fridge and when you are ready to grill.

 
Now for the couscous.  Personally, I love the bigger smoother texture of Israeli couscous so that is where we'll start.  Here is your lineup of ingredients (whoops, I forgot the garlic powder):

If you can't tell, I sort of love Trader Joe's

We're a smaller family so I just make half the box of couscous but this recipe can easily be doubled to serve more.  The cook time will end up being closer to 10-12 minutes total.  Start out by chopping up about 1/2 of a small red onion (or 1/4 of a bigger one).  Put a little bit of olive oil in your saucepan and heat it up over medium heat.  Add the red onion and cook until it is starting to get soft, then pour in the couscous.  Stir it occasionally until the couscous is lightly browned.

Add in your hot chicken stock (you can use water but chicken stock adds so much more flavor), a few shakes each of garlic powder, onion salt, and white pepper, and bring to a boil.  Once it's boiling cover the pot, turn down the heat, and set your timer for 9 minutes.  Then add your fresh spinach, feta (I use the fat free from Trader Joe's),  and grape tomatoes.  You can chop your tomatoes first,  but Jake isn't a fan and they are easier to pick out if I leave them whole, so whole it is in my house.  Put the lid back on and simmer for another minute or two until the liquid is absorbed.  That's it, you are ready to go.

My boys just eat the chicken and the couscous but lately I cannot get enough of tzatziki (Trader Joe's again) so I put a big dollop on my plate and dip my chicken in that.  You could also serve this with some pita on the side if you are so inclined.

Greek Chicken & Couscous

Chicken:

• about 1 lb. chicken breast tenders
• olive oil - just enough to coat
• 1 1/2 tbls. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 of a chopped red onion 
• 2 tsp. chopped shallot
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 
• freshly cracked pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp.)

1. Put chicken tenders in a large ziploc bag.
2. Combine all other ingredients and pour over chicken.
3. Seal bag then massage marinade into chicken.
4. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
5. Grill until cooked through.

Couscous:

• 1 tbls. olive oil 
• 1/4 to 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2/3 cup Israeli couscous
• 7 oz. chicken stock (hot)
• garlic powder, white pepper, & onion salt to taste
• 2-3 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/3 cup grape tomatoes (whole or chopped)
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta

1. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat then add the chopped red onion.
2. After the onion has started to soften add couscous and stir occasionally until lightly golden (about 5 minutes).
3. Stir in garlic powder, white pepper, & onion salt as well as hot chicken stock.
4. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 9 minutes.
5. Stir in spinach, tomatoes, and feta, replace cover and simmer another 1-2 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
6. Fluff and serve.

Linking up with Tasteful Tuesdays at Naptime Creations