Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken

Last week, I had a wonderful menu all planned out.  On Monday I went to the store and bought everything I would need (or so I thought).  Monday was still DiGiorno pizza and breadsticks, but I had actually forgotten to get the pork tenderloins for Tuesday night.  So, on Tuesday, I went ahead and made the crab cake burgers.

They were fantastic!  I completely forgot to take pictures, so I'll just have to make them again (oh darn!) and post about it later.  I was so excited that the recipe worked, and more importantly, that Bryan really liked it!  I was all set to send the leftover crab cakes with him to work for lunch.  I stepped out into the garage for a bit, came back in, and they were gone!  I asked Bryan if he had gone ahead and put them up, but he hadn't.  So what had happened?

Yep, this cute, sweet, innocent-looking dog had put her front paws on the counter and eaten ALL THREE of the crab cakes that were left.  Sigh.  Yet another reason to make more!

Well, after that, the week's plan changed.  Wednesday we went out with Bryan's family for a good-bye dinner to Mama Lynn.  At this point, I was remembering how nice it was to NOT cook everyday lol.  So Thursday we went to Whataburger, and Friday we ordered Chinese carryout.  That carried over until Saturday night, and there went the week!

So, this week I will use some of the recipes that I didn't make last week!  Last night, I made the Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken, and it was wonderful!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lbs chicken tenderloins
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts
• 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks with juice/syrup
• 1/2 cup sweet and sour sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 (9 ounce) package frozen oriental-style vegetables

The first step with this recipe is to chop up the chicken tenderloins.  There's a tendon that runs through each tenderloin, so you'll need to either cut it out or (like I did) cut around it.  I cut my chicken into small chunks, and some of them shredded while cooking.  I was fine with that, but if you want chunkier chicken, make sure to cut the tenderloins into bigger chunks!  As you cut up the chicken, put the chunks into your crock pot.

Once all of the chicken is in, measure out two the two tablespoons of soy sauce and pour it over the chicken.  Then stir the chicken around until it's coated in soy sauce.  The two tablespoons didn't quite cover it for me, so I added another splash (literally--paper towels are my best cooking friends!).  I use a wooden spoon for stirring--that way it doesn't scratch my ceramic crock pot.  Once all the chicken is roughly equally coated, it's on to the next step.

The next step is to add the water chestnuts.  I accidentally bought whole ones instead of sliced, but it still turned out just fine!

Next, if you want, add the carrots.  Bryan doesn't like carrots, so I omitted them.  After that, open the can of pineapple chunks and put THE JUICE ONLY into the slow cooker.  Refrigerate the the pineapple chunks--you'll need them later.

Stir everything in the crock pot until it's all mixed together.  Turn the crock pot onto low heat, and let everything cook for 3 to 4 hours.  I cooked everything for 3 hours.

About twenty minutes before you're ready to serve dinner, it's time for the add-ins!  First, whisk together the 1/2 cup of sweet and sour sauce, the two teaspoons of cornstarch, and the 1/2 teaspoon of ginger in a separate mixing bowl.

Dump the pineapple chunks and the frozen oriental-style vegetables into the crock pot.  I used a 12 ounce pack instead of 9 ounces, and I liked the vegetable-to-chicken ratio.  Next, pour the whisked mixture in the crock pot as well.  Stir everything together until its evenly mixed and turn the crock pot on high heat.  I cooked mine on high heat for 30 minutes for a total cook time of 3 hours (on low) and 30 minutes (on high).

Once it's done, the vegetables will be tender.  I served it in bowls over Uncle Ben's Original Ready Rice (90 second and done!  My favorite type of rice!).  Bryan and I really enjoyed it!  This is definitely something I will make again!