Deliciousness from the Crockety Pot

Honey Orange Chicken

Originally uploaded by alfagee

Update: I love this recipe so much, I’ve submitted it for the BSI Challenge. Get all the details at Chaya’s Comfy Cook Blog. I’ve never won the BSI, but maybe this one will do it!

I love the simplicity and ease of cooking with the Crockety Pot (mine is crotchety, so crock + crotchety = crockety), but I hate most of the recipes I’ve come across. Few of them have been absolute disasters, but few of them have been lipsmacking winners, either. Most fall into the “This is OK, but it needs something” category.

This is why, throughout the fall of 2008 and winter of 2009, I’ve embarked on improving on existing crockety pot recipes and creating my own. The recipe that follows, Honey Orange Chicken, started life as a stray recipe I found somewhere on the Internets. I didn’t bookmark the site and The Google is no help in locating it again. So, apologies if this is your recipe I’m posting without proper credit.

Except, it really isn’t your recipe anymore. It’s my new and improved version of your recipe. So now, I give you:

Gayle’s Honey Orange Chicken

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs — frozen

1/2 cup honey

1 cup orange juice

1 cup chicken stock or broth

2 tsps. worcestershire sauce

2 tsps. fresh grated ginger

1 tbsp. wasabi paste

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 12 oz pkg. frozen broccoli cuts

2 tbsps. cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup orange juice (optional)

Directions

1. Put the frozen chicken in the bottom of the crockpot. Good luck prying it out of the package.
2. Whisk together all the ingredients, up to the broccoli. You won’t need the broccoli until later and it will just muck up your whisk, anyway.
3. Pour the liquid mix over the chicken. Put the lid on, set your crockpot to either low (cooking time is about 7-8 hours) or high (5-6 hours) depending on how patient you are. Now, walk away.
4. About one hour before you want to eat, throw in the frozen broccoli. Do not stir. Cover the pot and walk away again.
5. The sauce is thin, but delicious. If you can’t accept that, pull out the chicken and broccoli and keep them warm in a 200 degree oven. Pour all the liquid into a saucepan over high heat, and mix in the cornstarch/juice slurry. Bring it to a boil and keep it there, stirring often until it thickens.

Serve the chicken and broccoli with either the thin or thickened sauce over rice. Top with a little fresh orange zest and some orange sections, if you’re feeling fancy.