Recipe: Honey Garlic Chicken, Potatoes, and Veggies

The last few days have been busy. I have been struggling to get my workouts in and balancing daily life. I have been doing pretty well at making sure I at least reached my daily step goal but I have not been doing well with getting in a good workout the last few days. 

Today's post is about a new meal I cooked. I have been wanting to get my cooking back up and going. I use to cook and document my cooking a lot more a few years ago but then I fell off. I have decided to get back to my documentation.

Yesterday, I decided to purchase my very first Crockpot. I went to Costco and bought the one they had on sale. I know you're probably thinking, how did I go through life this long and not have a crockpot. I actually enjoy the process of cooking. It has always been therapeutic for me. The process of chopping up your vegetables and cooking your protein and starch has always made me happy. I have also dabbled in a little baking but that included making boxed brownies and cakes but not making anything from scratch. I am now adding baking from scratch to my list of things to do in addition to cooking. I recently made my first cake from scratch. It was a Devil's Food Cake which I will post about later this week so stay tuned.

Today I prepared Honey Garlic Chicken, Potatoes, and Veggies in my Crockpot. My hubby looked online for a recipe that he wanted me to make and that is what he found. The recipe was posted on damndelicious.net. I have included the recipe below. I made some modifications to my version and used what I already had at home instead of going out and buying the exact ingredients listed. 

My review of the dinner: The meal was delicious overall. However, next time, I will add salt, because it needed it. I will also and more pepper because I like a little kick (spice) to my food. I also added red, yellow, orange, and green bell peppers for added flavor.

SLOW COOKER HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN AND VEGGIES 

INGREDIENTS : 

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (I substituted this and used 4 chicken breasts and cut them in half)

• 16 ounces baby red potatoes, halved (I substituted this and used russet potatoes)

• 16 ounces baby carrots 

• 16 ounces green beans, trimmed (I substituted this and used asparagus)

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves 

FOR THE SAUCE : 

• 1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (I did not use the whole 1/2 cup because I realized I did not have enough at home) 

• 1/2 cup honey 

• 1/4 cup ketchup 

• 2 cloves garlic, minced 

• 1 teaspoon dried basil 

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (I used cayenne pepper instead)

DIRECTIONS : 

1. In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, ketchup, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and pepper. 

2. Place chicken thighs (or breasts), potatoes, carrots and soy sauce mixture into a 6-qt slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, basting every hour. Add green beans during the last 30 minutes of cooking time. 

3. OPTIONAL: Preheat oven to broil. Place chicken thighs onto a baking sheet, skin side up, and broil until crisp, about 3-4 minutes. (I opted not to do this step)

4. Serve chicken immediately with potatoes, carrots and green beans, garnished with parsley, if desired.