Crockpot Sweet Chili Chicken

Do you ever have a week when it feels like everything is hitting the fan?

Yeah. I'm having one of those weeks. Work is crazy. The kids are sick. The husband is stressed about a super duper important test he has to take for his job. And the house is in a total state of disarray. I've gotta get my act together. Or a cleaning lady.

With everything on my plate, I didn't have the mental capacity to get creative with dinner. So I stalked Pinterest for a simple meal with serious leftover potential. Thanks to Sweet Peas and Saffron for saving the day with this tasty slow cooker meal featuring the chicken breast that happened to be on sale this week. Boom. Crockpot Sweet Chili Chicken for the win.

A few minutes of work on Sunday afternoon, and we were eating hot dinner all week long. And this is a dump-and-stir kind of slow cooker meal, too. Easy, delicious, healthy—just what I needed on a crazy week. Now about that cleaning lady...

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Crockpot Sweet Chili Chicken
From Sweet Peas and Saffron

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (for me this was 3 huge breasts)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt and pepper

For serving:
Cooked rice
Lime wedges (I think the lime really makes this meal special!)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped peanuts

In a small bowl mix together chicken broth, chili sauce, and soy sauce. Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour chili sauce mixture over chicken and turn to coat. Cook for about 3 hours on low, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees and you can shred the chicken pretty easily with a fork.

Remove chicken to a plate and use two forks to shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place back in slow cooker to keep it warm while you prep the sauce.

Pour cooking liquid into a small saucepan. Whisk together 1/4 cup water and cornstarch, then whisk into cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce begins to thicken, about 4-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and stir to coat.

Serve chicken over cooked rice. Top it with a squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro and peanuts.

Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken

Usually when I'm working on an idea for dinner, I read a gazillion recipes and then cobble them together for a new final product. Or I stand in front of the open cupboards long enough to come up with a recipe that uses up what I have on hand. Yeah, usually the second one.

When I stumbled across a recipe for Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken on Pinterest, I had to try it. No substitutions to use up the half-empty box of whatever in my pantry. No additional research. No comparing similar recipes. I even bought special ingredients I'd never used before. (I'm talking to you, sweet chili sauce.) And I barely tweaked the recipe.

After one bite, I knew I had to share this one here on HDHH. It was SO good. Worth a trip down the Asian aisle at the grocery store.

And it's a crock pot recipe! Amy is the crock pot queen around here, but I thought she'd be willing to share the spotlight for this delicious dinner.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
Gently adapted from Carlsbad Cravings

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons sweet rice wine
2 tablespoons fresh chopped peeled ginger
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds* boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Cooked rice for serving, optional
Steamed broccoli for serving, optional
Sesame seeds for garnish, optional

Whisk together soy sauce, water, brown sugar, sweet chili sauce, sweet rice wine, ginger, Hoisin, salt, and pepper. Place chicken in the slow cooker. Top with 1/2 cup sauce and turn to coat. Refrigerate remaining sauce. Cook chicken on low for about 4 hours**.

Remove cooked chicken to a plate and use two forks to shred it. Return chicken to the slow cooker.

Place reserved sauce in a pan over high heat along with the liquid from the slow cooker. Whisk in cornstarch. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 6 minutes. Stir as much sauce as you'd like into the shredded chicken and keep on the warm setting until you're ready to eat.

Serve chicken over rice with remaining sauce on the side. Garnish with sesame seeds. This meal is extra tasty with steamed broccoli.

*This was two gigantic chicken breasts for me.
**After 4 hours, my chicken was fall-apart tender and not over-cooked. I think my slow cooker tends to run a bit hot, so yours may take longer. When you can shred the chicken with two forks, you'll know it's done.