East West Barbecued Chicken in the Crock Pot

I don't think of my crock pot for summer time meals. But after reading a few slow cooker recipes in the latest issue of Woman's Day magazine, I decided it was time to drag out the crock pot.

East West Barbecued Chicken is definitely going into our menu rotation for the warm summer months. The sweet and spicy chicken recipe is not as heavy as some typical slow cooker recipes for winter time stews and chilis. The oh-so-moist chicken is covered in a Asian style barbecue sauce that is highlighted with sweet onions.

As with most dinners around our house, we ate in shifts. My Middle One and I ate first and couldn't get enough of the onions. Our dinner was paired with a noodle salad which combined a half pound of cooked and drained linguine tossed with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, a couple teaspoons of sesame oil, a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar, a cup each of steamed broccoli, green beans, and yellow pepper, and a few shakes of sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.

No Thank You Boy, his buddy Two Scoops, and My Oldest ate later in the evening and devoured the rest of the chicken. The boys were not big fans of the vegetables in the salad. They both said, "No thank you" when I asked if they wanted something green with their noodles. They added a few generous shakes of hot sauce to their chicken because they like living on the spicy side of life.

There were no leftovers from our dinner of East West Barbecued Chicken, and I will be making this many more times this summer.

East West Barbecued Chicken in the Crock Pot

Serves 4

2 medium onions, sliced, about 2 cups
2 chicken breasts, bone-in and skin on
5 chicken drumsticks, bone-in and skin on
1 cup spicy barbecue sauce such as Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet 'n Spicy
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
hot sauce, for serving

Place sliced onions in the crock pot and top with the chicken.

In a small bowl, combine the barbecue sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and orange juice. Pour over the chicken.

Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4 - 5 hours or low for 7 - 8 hours.

When the cooking time is complete, remove the chicken to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm. In a small pot over medium high heat, add 1 cup of the sauce from the crock pot. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir into the sauce in the pot and cook for 3 - 5 minutes until it is thickened. Pour the thickened sauce back into the crock pot and stir to combine. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve with extra hot sauce if desired.