Meal Planning 101: Slow Cooker Peanut Chicken

School is done! ?It's very bittersweet. ?I will miss my preschool kids so much and the awesome people I work with, but I am really looking forward to a year of maternity leave, spending time with my kids and taking care of this new babe that's due to be born in August. ?Hopefully I'll be here more often...I miss this place. ?My husband just started a blog about music called The Listening and he's been putting me to shame! ?His blog catch line is "an album a day keeps the radio away" and he's actually?been posting an album a day, even writing four or five posts at a time and scheduling them to post during the week. ?He's committed I tell ya.

Anyways, back to the food. ?Waaaaaaaaaaay back at Christmas time, I had bought the cookbook?The Looneyspoons Collection?for my Dad as a gift. ?He's a big fan (and so am I) but I was surprised to see that there were no online reviews of the cookbook. ?This brand new release by the Podleski sisters had been out since the beginning of November and there was no feedback anywhere. ?I got the bright idea to email them and ask the sisters if they could send me a copy of their cookbook for me to review. ?And to my surprise...they said YES! ?I got the cookbook in the mail a week later and have bookmarked over 20 recipes in this beautiful book and have been cooking away these past 6 months.

This slow cooker recipe came to my rescue when I was (obviously) ridiculously busy with work and needing to feed my family. ?Being able to throw a bunch of things in the slow cooker and leave for the day is such a lifesaver.

Recipe from The Looneyspoons Collection
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Serves 6

1 cup salsa

1/3 cup light peanut butter

2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate

1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp liquid honey

1 tbsp ginger root, grated

1/2 tsp curry powder

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 lbs or 1 kg)

Garnish:

Chopped peanuts

Chopped green onions

Whisk together the salsa, peanut butter, orange juice concentrate, soy sauce, honey, ginger root and curry powder in the crock of a slow cooker. ?Place chicken thighs over sauce. ?Turn pieces to coat both sides with sauce. ?Cover and cook on low heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or high heat setting 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until chicken is tender. ?Do not over cook. ?Serve over rice and garnish with chopped green onions and peanuts. ?

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THE RESULTS?

The flavor of the sauce on this chicken is really good. ?Unfortunately, I overcooked my chicken. ?I was planning on being home at the 6 hour mark to turn off my slow cooker, and a busy day turned into the chicken being in there for 8 1/2 hours. ?That was much too long for those poor chicken thighs and they got that overcooked, unpleasant texture. It's a really kid friendly recipe though, as my kids still really enjoyed it, since it had that familiar nutty flavor of peanut butter. ?The chopped peanuts and green onions are optional, but in my opinion they are totally necessary to brighten up the flavors and add texture. ?They are such a fantastic addition to the chicken and sauce.

Whether it's a busy work day, a chilly fall day or a hot summer day and you don't want to heat up your kitchen, try this slow cooker chicken. ?It's a nice change up from regular crock pot fare. ?

Meal Ideas:

• Slow Cooker Peanut Chicken + Rice + Peas or Broccoli

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