Sweet and Sour Chicken - #29daysseducedbybruce - Day 16 of 29

Every once in a while I'll make something so good I want to slap my momma.  Every once in a while I'll cook something that Adrian will eat without acting like I'm pouring battery acid in his eyes.  This dish was both of those things.  Adrian declared it "one of my best"...and that, folks, is all you need to know.  For a kid who can't stand anything, this was his everything.  

It's not a traditional sweet and sour chicken like you would find in a Chinese restaurant, in that the chicken is not breaded and fried.  Otherwise, all the flavors are there without the odd colored red syrupy sauce.  It certainly had the flavor of a traditional sweet and sour sauce, just not the bright red unnatural color.  The ONLY thing I would have changed about this was maybe not put the carrots in at the beginning and letting them cook all day.  They came out a nice lovely soft, but I think I would have preferred a little more crunch to my carrot.  As a bonus, I used up the remaining egg rolls that we hand rolled a couple weeks ago.  They were amazing.  

Let me know if you try it, folks.  

Slow-Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

Source: www.bettycrocker.com

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice
1 cup baby-cut carrots, cut in half
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger root
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Hot cooked rice or chow mein noodles, if desired

Notes / Directions

1. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Place pineapple chunks in small bowl; cover and refrigerate.

2. Place carrots, onion, garlic and ginger root in 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top with chicken. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar and reserved pineapple juice; pour over chicken.

3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 9 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink.

4. During last 30 minutes, add pineapple and bell peppers. Increase to high heat setting. Mix cornstarch and water; stir into chicken mixture during last 10 minutes of cooking. Serve with rice.