Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

This past weekend I had a special visitor.  My mom came down for the long weekend.  I needed a babysitter for Saturday so she decided to stay up for a couple nights.  My Ma lives 90 minutes away.  I know it's not that far.  But when your mom is your best friend, anything further than walking distance is hard!  We spent all of Sunday together and we had the most lazy, relaxing day.  Days like this call for Crockpot meals!  I have had this recipe for Teriyaki Chicken kicking around my Pinterest for a few weeks now and I've been dying to try it.  Finally boneless skinless chicken breast went on sale so I picked some up Friday so we could give it a go.

Here's what you need.

I made three changes to the recipe.  First, I didn't have Cider Vinegar on hand.  The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons.  My substitute, 2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar + 1 tablespoon Apple Juice.  Second, the recipe calls for 1 clove of garlic.  I refuse to follow any recipe that calls for only 1 clove of garlic on the grounds of principle.  I added 2.  Third, I reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.  

The recipe was very easy to put together.  All you do is mix the ingredients and pour over the chicken.  Personally I think you might as well mix all your ingredients in the crockpot and then put your chicken on top and stir it around.  Why make more dishes?? According to the recipe you are to cook this on low for 4-5 hours.  I must absolutely express here the importance of getting to know your crockpot! Mine gets really hot!  In fact, the 'keep warm' setting actually boils any liquid in the pot!  My chicken was perfectly cooked after only 3 hours on low! 

Next step is to remove and dice the chicken.  Strain the liquid into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Then you have to add a slurry of cornstarch and water (2 teaspoons of each) and let boil until thickened.  This only took me about 30 seconds.

Toss the chicken in the thickened sauce and you're all set!  We served our chicken with rice and broccoli.

This was delicious! The chicken was tender and juicy and the sauce had just the right balance of flavors.  Give this one a try.  It's worth a Pin!

Here's a printable recipe for you!

Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

 

 I've made these slow cooker ribs before and they were a huge hit with the hubs.  So when ribs went on sale cheap I didn't think twice about making them again!  This time I documented the process for you guys!  I used this recipes method but I use my own spice rub that I'll share with you.  I hope you will like it! 

Here's what you'll need.  Plus barbecue sauce of course.  I hesitated sharing this pic with my little one.  But it was so funny I just had to.  Usually he is in the background somewhere saying "cheese" whenever I'm taking pictures for my posts.  This time he was sitting on the counter and leaned over to get into the "food selfie".  He's always trying to be a part of it all!

Start by making your spice rub.  2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning and 2 teaspoons garlic powder.  I try not to get too complicated with my spice rubs.  And using a pre-made mix like Cajun seasoning is a great shortcut.  I don't add salt or pepper here because the Cajun seasoning has enough for my taste.  It's pretty spicy!!  This amount of spice rub was perfect for the 2 pound rack of ribs I had.  If you are making more ribs, make more rub accordingly.

Place your ribs in your slow cooker standing upright, leaning up against the sides of the pot.  Then pour your barbecue sauce on top of the ribs, allowing it to drizzle down the sides. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of barbecue sauce.  I didn't measure.  Just pour until you ribs are completely covered in sauce.  Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours until tender and you can easily pull meat off the bones with a fork.

Carefully remove the ribs from the slow cooker.  I use a flipper and a pair of tongs.  Place them bone side up on a baking rack sprayed with non stick spray.  Put this on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup.

Strain all that sauce from the slow cooker into a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil on medium heat.  Cook this for about 15 minutes until it has reduced by about a third and is nice and thick.  While the sauce is boiling set your oven to broil.

Brush the ribs with sauce and broil for about 3 minutes.  DO NOT LEAVE THE KITCHEN!  This will burn really quickly if you're not looking.  Now, this is totally optional but I like to double baste my ribs with barbecue sauce.  The outside is the best part after all!  So take the ribs out from under the broiler, brush with sauce and broil again.  Then flip them and do the same thing on the other side.

These ribs are delicious!!!  If you've been nervous about making ribs at home, this is a really fool proof recipe!  Give it a try!