Crock Pot Caribbean Chicken

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Loved this. The perfectly cooked chicken swimming in a flavorful sauce made for a delicious, well-balanced meal when served over some hot rice. This was a new recipe for me and I was SO pleased with the result. I found this recipe in "How to Make Love and Dinner at the Same Time". A cookbook with "200 Slow Cooker Recipes to Heat Up the Bedroom Instead of the Kitchen". This is the first recipe I've tried from the book, but it's certainly making me laugh. It's not as racy as the title implies, but every few pages there is a new entertaining story or list (ex. The Depressing Things We Buy...)The author Rebecca Field Yager is no-nonsense, funny, and talented with her slow cooker. Of the three slow cooker books I checked out from the library this week, this one is actually getting read. NOT another boring crock pot cookbook, it's a fun read too.

This dinner came together with about 30 minutes of prep time. I did all of the prep work the night before, put everything into the crock pot liner, and then refrigerated it overnight. The next morning, all I needed to do was drop the liner back into heating element and set it to cook on LOW. I was away from home all morning, and when I returned in the afternoon, the delightful smell that hit me as I walked through the door reminded me that I didn't need to worry about starting dinner. It was already well on it's way...

To begin, place 4 cubed potatoes and 3 chopped tomatoes in your slow cooker.



The recipe called for a mixture of white and dark meat chicken pieces. I had a package of chicken leg quarters (legs and thighs), so I removed the skin to reduce the fat. Then I browned the chicken in a little oil over medium high heat until I got some color on both sides.



Place the chicken on top of the potatoes and tomatoes.



Once you remove the chicken from the skillet, toss in chopped onion and green pepper, garlic, brown sugar, ginger, pepper, cayenne, thyme, and salt. Cook for 3 minutes.



Stir in some chicken broth.



Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker. This is where I stopped and put mine in the fridge overnight, but if you're cooking it right away just cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.



Mine was just right after 6 hours on the lowest setting. I unplugged my crock pot for a little over an hour because dinner was still 2 hours away and I didn't want the chicken to overcook. 45 minutes before dinner, I plugged it back in and brought the contents back to a simmer. While this was happening I started a batch of rice on the stove top. 30 minutes before serving, I poured in 1 1/2 cups of light coconut milk and stirred it around gently so as not to knock the super tender meat off of the bone.



Delicious! Although, I have to admit, my kids wouldn't touch this. Not even just the chicken. I'm not sure why. Maybe because the oldest refused and the little one followed suit? Oh well, they had plain rice and broccoli with cheese for dinner.




But wait, I'm not finished! Today for lunch, I picked the chicken off of the bone and re-heated the leftovers. After a night of soaking in the ample sauce, the rice and chicken made for a lovely Caribbean chicken stew! I'm adding this recipe to my "Favorites" notebook. The kiddos can eat hotdogs. Their loss!



Caribbean Chicken from How to Make Love & Dinner at the Same Time: 200 Slow Cooker Recipes to Heat Up the Bedroom Instead of the Kitchen I adapted this by adding a little more salt and sugar and cayenne pepper.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
3 pounds chicken pieces
1 tablespoon oil
4 potatoes, cubed
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions:

In a skillet, brown the chicken in oil over medium-high heat.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, and add the potatoes and tomatoes to the slow cooker.

Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, brown sugar, ginger, pepper, cayenne, thyme and salt to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

Stir the broth into the skillet, then transfer the mixture to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Stir in the coconut milk and cook for an additional 30 minutes on low.

Note: This is really good over rice for soaking up the yummy broth!

To download or print this recipe click here!