Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken

The crock pot makes weeknight cooking SO.MUCH.EASIER.   What's better than having dinner ready when you walk in the door from work??

We love anything with an oriental flare and I came across this Sesame Chicken recipe on Me and My Belly Blog and came up with something similar with the ingredients I had on hand!    This was QUICK, EASY and when the hubs & the toddler like it... it will go down on the dinner rotation list!

Next time I make this recipe I will definitely DOUBLE it because there were barely any leftovers... and mama loves leftovers!!!

Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 2-3 Chicken Breasts, cubed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp Ketchup
• 1 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 2 tsp cornstarch (mixed in 3 Tbsp cold water)
• Sesame Seeds (not absolutely necessary-- but it is Sesame Chicken!)

Method:

1. Place cubed chicken in crock pot.
2. Mix together honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, canola oil, onion powder and garlic powder.  Pour mixture over chicken.
3. Cook on Low 3-4 hours or until chicken is done.    Remove chicken from crockpot- leaving sauce.
4. Mix 2 tsp cornstarch with 3 Tbsp cool water.   Add cornstarch mixture to sauce in crock pot, mixing well.  Turn crock pot to HIGH and let cook/thicken for 10-15 minutes.  
5. Add Chicken back to sauce/crock pot and coat well with sauce - let chicken warm 10 min.
6. Serve over Rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve
   with vegetable of choice!

For Teriyaki Asparagus Recipe Click Here

Slow Cooker Steak Tacos

I had a London Broil in the fridge that I needed to use up--- and I was in the mood for some sort of shredded beef tacos/carne asada.  I don't think I had ever put a London Broil in the crock pot before but I figured it couldn't turn out TOO BAD... right?   

It ended up being really good! 

Here is what I did:


Slow Cooker Steak Tacos

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Ibs of Beef (You could use london broil, roast, steak, stew meat)
• 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 1.5 Tbsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 12 oz bottle of dark beer
• 1 sweet onion
• 3 jalepeno peppers
• 2 tsp oregano

Method:

1. First I combined the Chili Powder, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, Lime Juice, Salt and Garlic in a ziploc bag-- I mashed it around well to combine it, and it had a paste like consistency.  
2. Next I added the beef to the bag and coated it really well on all sides with the paste.
3. Throw the beef/bag in the fridge overnight to marinate.
4. The next morning -- put the beef in the crockpot, chop up the (3) jalepenos (discard the seeds), cut the onion into 8-10 pieces, sprinkle the 2 tsp oregano on top and dump in the 12 oz bottle of beer. 
5. Cook on LOW for 6-8 Hours.
6. Once beef is tender/cooked, shred with two forks and add back to the sauce in the crockpot-- mix well.
7. Serve on your choice of tortilla (we used corn tortillas) and top with cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, black beans ect!    (We also ate these as leftovers on top of chips to make nachos!  YUM)

*Leftovers freeze well to eat at a later date also!

ENJOY~
Melissa