Honey Garlic Chicken

I made this dish several weeks ago and realized I never posted the recipe.  This is another one that I don't have a picture for.  We served it for company on Chinese New Year, and I got distracted as I was setting the table with all the excitement and did not photograph the plate before we started eating.  There were no leftovers, so I sort of missed my photo opportunity. 

This dish is just too good, however, to not share the recipe until it makes a repeat performance on our dinner menu.  This is the recipe that I included in our annual holiday letter to family and friends as it became one of our favorite new recipes in 2011.  I hope you'll give it a try and it will become one of your family favorites in 2012.

I first read of this recipe in Stephanie O'Dea's book, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow that I picked up at the library.  I was intrigued with the simple list of ingredients.  Plus I just love anything that has a combination of salty and sweet.  I also love that you can put the ingredients in the crock pot in less than 5 minutes and come back later and have the whole meal ready to eat.  I also often find boneless, skinless thighs on manager special which make this meal very easy on the budget.  No matter how much I make, there never seems to be leftovers of this meal.  I think that speaks for itself.

Here's the recipe:

Honey Garlic Chicken
1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts would also work, but we like thighs)
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup soy sauce (we like LaChoy better than Kikoman)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey

1.  Place your chicken in the bottom of a greased slow cooker.
2.  Mix together all the other ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the top of the chicken.
3.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Serve chicken over a bed of steamed rice and a steamed green vegetable of your choice (we like broccoli or edamame)

The sauce is the best part, according to my kids, so I've learned to thicken the sauce after the chicken has cooked.  You can remove the chicken and add a little corn starch and water to the sauce in a small saucepan on the stove.  Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes until it thickens up.  Spoon the thickened sauce over the cooked chicken in a serving bowl.

What was your favorite new recipe of 2011?