Pumpkin Chicken

Pumpkin chicken?  Yup!  I needed to use up some leftover pumpkin puree so I thought why not.  I adapted this pumpkin chicken recipe from Witty in the City (original recipe here).  I had to use honey instead of maple syrup since I didn't have any.  This pumpkin chicken was actually a little on the spicy side, so if you like a kick, this is your type of chicken dish.  Serve this pumpkin chicken over rice or egg noodles and definitely spoon some of that extra sauce on top.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chicken

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound chicken thighs, boneless and skinless (4 pieces)

1 cup pumpkin (plain puree)

1 cup chicken stock

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon honey (or maple syrup)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes

½ teaspoon garam masala (or curry powder)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.  Place in baking dish.

In a bowl, whisk together pumpkin, chicken stock, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, red chili pepper flakes and garam masala.

Pour pumpkin sauce over chicken.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Rotate baking dish halfway through baking and baste chicken with the pumpkin sauce.

Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Yes, here is another slow cooker recipe but who doesn't love slow cooker recipes?  This is a great no fail recipe because you can't mess this up.  I only used 4 ingredients so it can't get any easier.  What is also great is how versatile this chicken is for so many different dishes.  I have made a sandwich and burritos with this chicken already.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound chicken (I had 1 chicken breast and 2 chicken thighs.)

1 cup salsa

15 ounce can black beans, drained

1 teaspoon cumin

Directions

Place chicken in slow cooker and season with cumin.

Top with drained black beans and salsa.

Cook on high 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, until chicken is cooked through.  The chicken should shred easily.

Serve over rice, in a burrito/taco or as a sandwich.

Slow Cooker Honey Chicken

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  After a busy weekend, sometimes you just need an easy meal to make on Sunday night.  If you need a simple summer recipe for dinner, this slow cooker honey chicken is great if you don't want to use the stove top or oven.  There are only a few ingredients and everything gets mixed into one bowl.  I love easy cleanup meals!  I served this honey chicken over white rice with a side of garlicky french green beans with slicked almonds.

Slow Cooker Honey Chicken

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound skinless chicken thighs, 4 pieces (You can use chicken breasts instead.)

1/3 cup honey

½ cup soy sauce (I used a low sodium soy sauce.)

½ cup ketchup

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning (I used Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute.)

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, and garlic.

Add chicken to honey mixture.  Pour into slow cooker.

 

Cook on low for 6 hours, until chicken is cooked through.

 

Serve over rice.

 

Serves 4.

Slow Cooker Santa Fe Chicken

I love using my slow cooker and this Santa Fe Chicken is a super simple recipe.  I am pretty sure Santa Fe Chicken was originally a casserole type dish but making it in a slow cooker is so much easier.  I have seen several slow cooker recipes where you only need chicken and salsa, but I wanted to add a little bit more.  I already had a can of black beans and a can of corn, and those work well together.  Feel free to add in kidney beans or pinto beans instead of black beans and use your favorite salsa.  Prepare the ingredients the night before and just turn on your slow cooker in the morning.  You will have a great dinner by the time you are home.  The shredded chicken is so versatile too.  I made a little bowl of the chicken, topped it with a poached egg, shredded cheddar cheese, and plain greek yogurt; and I served it with some tortilla chips.  It was delicious!  Also,  I made a bunch of burritos with the leftover shredded chicken to freeze for future meals.  I'll try to post that recipe tomorrow. 

Slow Cooker Santa Fe Chicken

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 ½  pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs (5 pieces)

15 ounce can black beans, drained

15 ounce can corn, drained

16 ounce jar salsa (I used Desert Pepper Trading Co.’s Salsa Del Rio – Medium.)

salt and pepper

Directions

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Place chicken thighs in slow cooker.

Top with drained black beans and corn.

Stir in salsa.

Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, until chicken is cooked through.  The chicken should shred easily just by stirring after cooking.

This is great served over rice, in a burrito/taco, or as a sandwich.

Serves 6 or more.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

This slow cooker honey sesame chicken dish is amazing and so easy to make!  I loved it so much that I am actually looking forward to eating leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  I have seen this recipe all over various food blogs, but naturally I changed some of it to my taste and to what I already had.  I used organic bone-in skinless chicken thighs, but you can use boneless or even use chicken breasts instead.  I also included sesame oil and ginger in my recipe unlike some of the others I have seen.  I didn't have cornstarch to thicken the sauce so I substituted flour instead.  Overall, this was a great dish and I will definitely be making this on a regular basis. 

Here are some of the recipes I found on other food blogs:  A Cook's Quest, Chef in Training, Eat Drink Love, Prevention RD, Six Sisters' Stuff, Table for Two, and Very Culinary.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound skinless chicken thighs, 4 pieces

½ cup honey

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons onion, diced

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon sesame oil

¼ teaspoon ginger, minced

1 tablespoon flour (You may use cornstarch instead.)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, roasted

salt

pepper

 

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place into slow cooker.

 

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil and ginger.

 

Pour honey mixture over chicken.

 

Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours or on high for 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours, until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken from the slow cooker.

 

Whisk 1 tablespoon flour into the sauce in the slow cooker to thicken sauce.  Cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

  

While the sauce is thickening, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. 

Add chicken back to the sauce and stir to coat chicken with sauce.

 

Serve over rice. Sprinkle sesame seeds over chicken.

Serves 4-6.  Enjoy!