Honey Pecan Chicken - Slow Cooker Style

This week has been all about trying new recipes.  We have tried 2 new chicken recipes and 1 new steak recipe.  All of which have not disappointed.  Yesterday was a crazy busy day and I knew in order to have an easy dinner I needed a crock pot meal.  I found this recipe recently and decided it was time to give it a try.  It was sweet & salty and was a nice twist on regular chicken.  BONUS I had all the ingredients in the house (since I usually keep an assortment of nuts in the freezer).

Here you go!

Honey Pecan Chicken - Slow Cooker Style

Ingredients:

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (about 1 - 1 1/2 pounds)
Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste
2 tbsp. Coconut Oil
2/3 cp. Raw/Pure Honey
1 cp. Chopped Pecans
Garlic Powder (to taste) - OR 3 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
Dash of Cinnamon
Handful Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (chopped - optional)

Directions:

-  Add the coconut oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat.

-  Season the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper and add it to the saute pan.

-  Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, or until it is slightly golden brown.

-  While the chicken is searing, add the garlic, Italian Seasonings, and Cinnamon to the honey.  Stir & set aside.

-  Place the seared chicken in the slow cooker and pour the honey mixture over the top and sprinkle on the chopped pecans.  Set the slower cooker to low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.


-  Once cooked, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and cover with aluminum foil.  Let the chicken rest for 5 minute.

-  After the chicken has rested, you can either shred the chicken and add it back to the sauce OR serve the chicken breasts whole with the sauce drizzled over the top.  Finally top with a handful of fresh parsley if you wish.

- ENJOY!!!

Thank you for visiting.  Come back again soon!


~Sarah Strubhar
Independent Team Beachbody Emerald Coach

BANG BANG Baked Chicken

Recently we all went to Rehobeth Beach for a long weekend.  While there we went out to eat at a seafood restaurant and my husband wanted to order some BANG BANG Shrimp.  I had no idea what BANG BANG Shrimp was, but I figured what the heck why not.  And so glad I did, I loved it!  It was so tasty.

So, last week I was looking for some new recipe ideas to try and came across a recipe for BANG BANG Chicken.  I figured why not, I loved the shrimp, let's see how the chicken tastes.  And again, I was not disappointed.  The best part about making it at home was I could control the spiciness of it.  LOVE when I find a new recipe that is a hit and am able to add it to my collection.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  And yes, the sauce calls for mayonnaise - which is why I am a huge fan of the 80/20 rule, I don't feel guilty when enjoying the sauce.

**Side note:  When I was making these, I did some before adding the hot sauce to the bread crumb mixture for the kids. Next time, I will probably add just a touch of hot sauce as that added to the flavor so much!

BANG BANG Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

For Chicken - 

4 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into small pieces/chunks (between 1 & 1.5 pounds)
1 cup Buttermilk
¾ cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ cup Cornstarch
1 Egg
1 tbsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot sauce)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Whole Grain/Wheat Panko Breadcrumbs

For Sauce - 

½ cup Mayonnaise

¼ cup Sweet Chili Sauce (I used Frank's)
1 Tbsp Frank's Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp Pure Honey

Directions: 

- In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients for the sauce together and refrigerate until ready for serving.

- Preheat the oven to 400-425 degrees.

-  In a medium bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. 

-  To the bowl add the hot sauce, egg, and buttermilk and whisk until you have a smooth batter. 

-  Add the chicken pieces to the bowl, toss to make sure each piece is coated in the batter and set aside.

-  In another bowl add about a cup of Panko breadcrumbs.

-  Coat each piece of chicken with breadcrumbs, add more breadcrumbs as needed, and place on a baking sheet (or a cooling rack over a baking sheet to help from keeping the pieces of chicken from getting soggy).

-  Place in the oven and bake for 15-30 minutes depending on how hot your oven is and how large the chicken pieces are.  I baked mine for about 20-25 minutes just to make sure they were cooked through which might have been 5 minutes to long, but they were extra crispy and good!

-  Drizzle chicken with sauce and serve.

**You could also use Extra Virgin Olive Oil and fry the pieces if you wanted.  I just don't like fried food much anymore nor did I feel like cleaning up the mess that goes with frying.