Have you ever wished to take back a recipe when you sit down to eat? Like, to completely go back six hours and choose to do it a different way? This Crock-Pot meal is one that I wish to go back in time and cook the chicken on the stove like I usually do, instead of putting it in a Crock-Pot. In this blog I am going to give the full recipe AND how I would have cooked this meal before following the recipe.
I love making Oriental-flavored foods. Stir fry, beef & broccoli, Sushi, Crab Rangoons, Spring rolls, and Teriyaki anything. My family, on the other hand, could take it or leave it. Tyler does not like stir fry, as he prefers steak & potatoes. So with this recipe I was hoping to make a meal that he would enjoy, a hearty dinner full of flavor.
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Cost breakdown for this recipe
One reason this was on our menu was because I was craving a meal with Sweet Chili sauce. What I was NOT looking forward to was the end result of this recipe. Anyhow, below is a cost breakdown for each ingredient that went into this meal; including the homemade Sweet Chili sauce.
Making sauces from scratch is one way to cut the cost in a meal in such a dramatic way. Instead of buying one jar, 7-ounces of sauce, you can make three times that amount for typically the same cost. The cost of a jar of Sweet Chili Sauce, 6.7-ounces, is $3.49. Making this Sweet Chili Sauce recipe is $1.10
Chicken $9.53
Peppers $2.99
Brown Rice $3.19
Green Beans $1.19
Snap Peas $1.19
Pineapple $1.69
Ketchup $0.60
Soy Sauce $0.10
3 Garlic Cloves $0.20
Brown Sugar $0.20
Sugar $0.20
Apple Cider Vinegar $0.40
The total cost for this recipe is $21.48.
That is $3.38 per serving. And let me tell you, we have LOADS of it for leftovers. Making this recipe is so cost effective if you want a lot of food, to feed a lot of people. If you were to buy Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken from a restaurant, you would pay close to $13.70 per serving. We would pay close to $80 to buy enough servings to feed our family. I don’t know about you, but we sure like saving $70 on a meal!
This recipe, in theory is perfect. It has vegetables, meat and a delicious sauce. What I was unaware of was the resulting dryness of the chicken. The original recipe that I was referencing said to put this meal at a HIGH temp for 5-6 hours, when I should have put it at LOW for 5-8 hours. The chicken ended up dry and I highly recommend not using a Crock-Pot with this meal, unless you are only putting it on LOW for 5-6 hours so the chicken is fully cooked, yet moist.
Another way to make this chicken is to cook it on the stove in a Wok, and when the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables and make it into a stir fry. Add the sauce last and save some to drizzle over the top. Check the bottom of the post, after the recipe, for my Stir Fry Variation for this recipe!
Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound Chicken
3 Peppers, yellow, red, orange
Brown Rice
Green Beans
Snap Peas
1 Pineapple
1/3 cup Ketchup
4 tsp Soy Sauce
3 Garlic Cloves
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Directions:
1. Place chicken in a Crock-Pot. Make sure to slice it into smaller pieces, or cubed to 1-inch pieces.
2. Rinse, cut peppers, pineapple, green beans and snap peas, and set them aside.
3. Place all of the vegetables in the Crock-Pot on top of the chicken.
4. Make the Sweet Chili sauce and pour it over the vegetables.
To make the sauce; place 1/3 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 4 tsp soy, 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, and 2 garlic cloves minced in a sauce pan and heat to medium-high until boiling. Reduce the heat to simmer for 10-minutes or until thickened. For this meal I doubled the recipe to cook the food in the Crock-Pot.
5. Cover the Crock-Pot and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.
Serve with rice, top the chicken and vegetables with more sauce, if you prefer to make more, and enjoy!
~Monica
Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound Chicken
3 Peppers, yellow, red, orange
Brown Rice
Green Beans
Snap Peas
1 Pineapple
1/3 cup Ketchup
4 tsp Soy Sauce
3 Garlic Cloves
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Directions:
1. Place chicken in a Crock-Pot.
2. Cut peppers, pineapple, green beans and snap peas.
3. Place all of the vegetables in the Crock-Pot.
4. Make the Sweet Chili sauce and pour it over the vegetables.
To make the Sweet Chili Sauce; place 1/3 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 4 tsp soy, 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, and 2 garlic cloves minced in a sauce pan and heat to medium-high until boiling. Reduce the heat to simmer for 10-minutes or until thickened.
5. Cover the Crock-Pot and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.
Serve with rice, more sauce if you prefer to make more, and enjoy!
Stir Fry Variation:
1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a Wok.
2. Cook chicken until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from the Wok and place in a bowl, set aside.
3. Wash and cut pineapple, peppers, green beans and snap peas.
4. Place all of the vegetables into the still-warm Wok and cook until tender.
5. Make the Sweet Chili Sauce and let it simmer for 10-minutes until thick.
6. Place the chicken back into the Wok, with the vegetables, and cover with sauce.
Serve with rice and enjoy!
~Monica
