Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken

I don't know about y'all, but I'm all for making dinner as stress free as possible.  It's even more important now that the kids have started all of their extracurricular activities...karate, soccer, Girl Scouts, and soon - basketball!  It makes getting a decent dinner on the table a challenge.  So, I've been gathering up recipes to try - either freezer meals or crock pot meals - anything that can be done ahead of time.  This crock pot chicken recipe was a winner at the Mo'Betta house.

Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken adapted from Full Bellies. Happy Kids

3/4 cup brown sugar*
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T. minced ginger (or 1 tsp ground)
4 cloves minced garlic *I used 2
1/2 tsp cayenne or red pepper
3 lbs. chicken (whatever parts you like!) I used boneless, skinless breasts
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste

Combine 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, 2 T. soy sauce, ginger, garlic and pepper.  Add chicken and toss to coat.  At this point, I froze my chicken - then the day before I was going to cook it, I put it in the fridge to thaw.  It marinates while thawing.  I'm assuming you could also just throw it in the crock pot frozen, since I cook chicken from frozen all the time.  Place chicken in a slow cooker and cook on low for about 4 hours or until done (will be longer if chicken was frozen).  When done, place chicken in a broiler proof dish.  Combine remaining *1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup), water, tomato paste and remaining soy sauce.  Brush on chicken and cook under the broiler for about 5 mins or until chicken is slightly crisp (or sauce looks all bubbly and thick, since I used skinless chicken).

Verdict - My kids and husband really liked this.  I thought it was a little too sweet - but hey, if the rest of the family liked it, I'm a happy camper!  We had brown rice with this (cooked in my steamer), green beans, and pumpkin cornbread!

I'm linking this recipe up at these great places: Beyer Beware, Delightfully Dowling, A Southern Fairytale, Skip to my Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter

   Awarded Recipe of the Day from Circle of Moms 03/13/13!