Crockpot Asian Chicken

To be honest with you, I did not intend for this recipe to be a crockpot recipe but my energy was low so I threw it in the crockpot instead. It just goes to show you that you can convert almost any recipe into a crockpot recipe! You can also easily make this stove top.

I'm having a lot of fun playing with asian sauces. Using a few asian staple ingredients together will almost undoubtedly create a tasty sauce. You will see that I used a splash of sesame oil and listed it as an optional ingredient. Not many are a fan, and a little goes a long way. I think it adds great flavor without being overwhelming. The agave helps cut some of the intensity. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the sauce is!

I marinated the chicken in orange juice which I think helped make the chicken nice ad juicy. If you skip this step, just add about 1/4 cup to the sauce. As a thickening agent, I used Potato starch which is popularly used in many gluten free soups and for baking. You may use cornstarch instead, but I love the consistency of potato starch and highly recommend adding to your pantry. I used zucchini and mushrooms, 2 of my favorite vegetables! I always have a package of the sliced Trader Joe's mushrooms in my fridge. I threw in some sliced baby bell peppers for the whole 3 hours because I had them, but I didn't add it to the recipe. I added the other vegetables for only 2 hours because they don't require that much cook times and I find the vegetables can soften too much for my liking if cooked longer. If you don't have time to throw in the vegetables after an hour, you should be fine cooking them all together for the 3 hours.

This dish can be eaten on it's own or even on a salad! A classic base would be rice or quinoa, but I did not feel like waiting for the rice to cook so I used this Trader Joe's frozen mashed potatoes. It was my first time using it since I usually try to be healthier and use the cauliflower rice. I will definitely be keeping these mashed potatoes in my freezer because it was so easy, creamy and delicious! Sometimes you just need some mashed potatoes! The sauce on top was to die for!