Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken (Worth a Try.)

Overview
If you are in the mood for Chinese without the expense of eating out or ordering in, this recipe is one to try. It is flavorful, healthy, and surprisingly easy.

Recipe Source

As you read Veggie, Meaty,  Baby! you may notice a pattern in the types of recipes that I try. I prefer simple recipes that require very little effort, few ingredients, easy preparation, and loads of flavor. I like to chop veggies, dump ingredients together, cook and enjoy.  The recipes on bettycrocker.com mesh very well with the type of cooking I prefer. If you haven’t been to bettycrocker.com, I recommend that you check it out.  I found this recipe on bettycrocker.com. My customized version of this recipe is listed below.

Recipe

1 Can (20 oz) Pineapple Chunks in juice (reserve juice)

1 Cup Shredded Carrots

½ Cup Chopped Onion                  

3 Cloves Chopped Garlic

½ Tsp. Ginger

Meaty Version:  2 Pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in 2 inch pieces or

Veggie Version: 1 Package Morning Star Farms Meal Starters Vegetarian Chik’n Strips and 1 can of White Beans or Chick Peas, rinsed/drained

½ Cup Soy Sauce

½ Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1 Green or Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 Can Water Chestnuts, drained (available in grocer’s Asian food aisle)

¼ Cup Corn Starch

¼ Cup Water

Serve over whole grain brown rice cooked according to package directions.

Top with Sunflower Seeds and Crunch Chow Mein noodles (available in grocer’s Asian food aisle)

1. Drain Pineapple, reserving juice. Place pineapple in small dish; cover and refrigerate.

2. Place carrots, onion, garlic and ginger in 4+ quart slow cooker. Top with chicken or vegetarian Chik’n Strips. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar and reserved pineapple juice; pour into slow cooker.

3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink.

4.  Increase heat setting to high. Add pineapple, bell peppers, water chestnuts, and beans (Veggie Version) to slow cooker. Mix cornstarch and water well. Stir into slow cooker. Continue to cook at high heat setting for at least 30 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.

Complete Protein= Chicken (Meaty version)
Complete Protein= Chick Peas/White Beans + Whole Grain Brown Rice (Veggie Version)

Tips 
After adding the corn starch mixture and turning the crock pot up to the high heat setting, I did not allow the crock pot enough time to heat up and let the cornstarch do its thing to thicken the sweet and sour sauce.  My suggestion to improve this recipe is that after you turn the crock pot up to the high heat setting, check it every 10- 15 minutes until the sweet and sour sauce thickens. Once it thickens, you shouldn’t have to cook it anymore.

Possible Side Dishes
Cabbage slaw. Fortune cookies. For some added protein, scramble up a couple of eggs and mix in before serving.

Reviews

Veggie- I had been craving Chinese for some time before cooking this meal, and this meal hit the spot! I was surprisingly impressed with the flavor of the sauce, though; the sauce did not thicken appropriately. The water chestnuts, sunflower seeds and chow mein noodles gave this dish a nice crunch that pulled the whole meal together. As we have enjoyed this dish over the week, I have found myself eating out of the refrigerated crock pot while waiting on my dish to reheat in the microwave. That’s always a good sign of a tasty dish in my book.

Meaty- The Meaty of the family is not a connoisseur Chinese inspired meals. In fact, I think I can count on one had the number of times we have been to a Chinese restaurant in the 13 years that we have known each other. The Meaty of the family felt the chicken was nice and tender and soaked up a lot of flavor. He felt the sauce was not to sweet and not to sour; definitely worth a try, though.

Baby- Our toddler was fickle the day we had this meal . He did not have much of an appetite and is cutting a tooth. He took a couple of big handfuls and ate them up. Our son doesn’t use utensils all that well and became a bit frustrated with trying to eat. When I helped him load his spoon, he seemed to enjoy this dish. I heard him say “Mmmmm” several times, but he just didn’t seem all that interested in dinner the night we enjoyed this recipe. Needless to say, the jury is still out according to Baby.

Veggie, Meaty, Baby!  wants to hear from you. Please post comments as you try and customize these recipes to fit your family. Let me know how this dish turned out and what your family thought of this dish.