I saw a chicken crock pot recipe posted on Facebook this morning, and while it sounded yummy, after reading some of the comments it was apparent the recipe “lacked something”. So I fixed it, in both senses of the term.

I had bought 3.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale (five large breasts in a package) at my local Safeway store yesterday, not knowing I’d need them for this morning’s recipe makeover. I removed what little fat and gristle there was, and cut them into cubes, no larger than 1.5 inches… some smaller. Dropped it all in a large bowl to coat it.

In a small bowl, I made a coating of 2 Tbsp corn starch, 1 Tbsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp ginger, and stirred in 1/4 cup water. I poured this mixture into the chicken cubes, and mixed well by hand.

I pan-seared the coated chicken in a large skillet. Not brown, just white on all edges. My technique: turn the eye to High, get it up to temperature a bit, drizzle in a couple tablespoons of olive oil (I actually used Avocado oil), and dump in the chicken; stir, stir, stir, separating the chicken cubes and getting the sides uniform; when about 3/4 done, turn off the heat and use the remaining heat to finish. Put the pan-seared chicken into a crock pot.

In a medium bowl, put a 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks with water, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 soy sauce. Mix well with a spoon, then pour the mixture evenly over the chicken cubes in the crock pot. Don’t mix.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve over rice, with a side of steamed veggies.

Click on pictures for larger view.

Shopping List

• 2-4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks, with water/juice

On Hand (Or add to Shopping List)

• Corn starch
• Garlic Powder
• Ginger
• Brown sugar (dark or light)
• Soy sauce

Short Directions

1. Cube chicken, put in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, mix 2 Tbsp corn starch, 1 Tbsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp ginger, and 1/4 cup water .  Add to chicken cubes.  Toss to coat.
3. Pan-sear coated chicken cubes in a large skillet til white all around. Not brown, don’t “cook” – lightly pan-sear.
4. Put pan-seared chicken in crock pot.
5. In a small bowl, mix 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks with water/juice, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce. Pour mixture over chicken in crock pot; don’t mix.
6. Cook on low 4-6 hours.
7. Serve with rice and steamed veggies.