Eva Gates’ Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Please welcome today's guest, EVA GATES, author of the lighthouse library series and AKA that energizer bunny, Vicki Delany.  Eva's an entertaining author and a terrific cook. We've been lucky enough to be invited to her farmhouse table for an excellent meal and good company. Today she's sharing an easy and delicious recipe and giveaway.  Read to find out more.

Take it away, Eva!

          

Sometimes, even on the hottest summer days, you just feel like a hearty, hot meal. And that’s where your slow cooker shines.  No need to heat up the kitchen, just pop the chicken in the pot with a quick and easy sauce, turn it on, and head off to the beach or out to the swimming pool.

I love this dish, and it’s very economical too.  Rather than buying expensive chicken parts, get a whole chicken when it’s on sale and hack it to pieces.  Because the meat will be removed from the bones before being served, you don’t need to worry about appearances or ensuring all the pieces are similar size for serving presentation.

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

3 – 4 pound chicken, whole
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup blackberry jam
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

Cut the chicken into pieces, and remove skin.

Place chicken pieces into the slow cooker.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, blackberry jam, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion and crushed red pepper flakes.

Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook the chicken on LOW for 5 – 6 hours until the chicken is fully cooked to the point of sliding easily off the bone.  .

Remove the chicken pieces from the slow cooker and place them on a cutting board.

Cut the chicken meat off the bones and shred the meat into small pieces. Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl and discard the bones.

Whisk together the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of cold water.

Transfer the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan set over medium-high heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it reduces and has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add the chicken to the saucepan, stir into the sauce until all the chicken is coated.

Serve over rice or small tubular pasta with a green vegetable.

Enjoy!

This recipe freezes very well.

(I found this recipe at http://www.justataste.com/slow-cooker-crock-pot-honey-garlic-chicken-recipe/ and made some adjustments of my own)

Eva Gates is the author of the Lighthouse Library cozy series from Penguin Obsidian, set in a historic lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The first in the series, By Book or By Crook, was released in February and the second, Booked for Trouble, will be out September 1st.  Eva is the pen name of bestselling author Vicki Delany, one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers.

Eva can be found at www.lighthouselibrarymysteries.com and Vicki at www.vickidelany.com

Follow Eva on Facebook at www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor and Vicki at https://www.facebook.com/Vicki.Delany.

Eva is offering an ARC (advanced review copy) of Booked for Trouble to one lucky reader (USA OR CANADA) at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen Just leave a comment to enter the draw.