Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

 

Have you ever got started making a recipe only to realize half way through that you don't have all of the ingredients? 

That happened to me this week. I had some chicken thighs sitting in my freezer waiting to be used so I decided on trying out a recipe I pinned a while ago for Teriyaki Chicken.  

I quickly looked through the recipe and thought I had everything I needed. But, when it got time to put in the Teriyaki Sauce, none could be found. I'm sure I had a bottle of it in the pantry... who knows what happened to it! 

So, I did what any Pinterest loving person would do and did a quick search for a homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe and found a great one (here). 

It claimed to be better than  any store bought sauce so I thought is would be a good one to try. It didn't disappoint! It was a very tasty sauce and gave the chicken just the right amount of sweet and tangy to make it absolutely delicious! 

Here's the recipe(s) I used:

     Teriyaki Chicken

     2 -3 lbs chicken 

     2 cup chicken broth 

     I cup teriyaki sauce (see below for recipe)

     2/3 cup brown sugar

     3 minced garlic cloves

Place chicken in crock pot. Pour other ingredients over chicken. Cook on low for about 6 hours. 

The recipe directed to cut the chicken into pieces beforehand, but since I was using frozen thighs I just added them whole to begin with. Once they had cooked for a few hours I broke them apart into pieces easily with a fork and knife. So I think either way would work well.

     Teriyaki Sauce

     1/3 cup soy sauce

     2 tbsp honey

     1 tbsp brown sugar

     1 minced garlic clove

     1/4 tsp paprika

     1/4 tsp nutmeg

     1 tsp apple cider vinegar

     1/3 cup water

     1 tbsp cornstarch

In a saucepan combine and heat soy sauce, honey, sugar, garlic, paprika, nutmeg, and vinegar over medium heat. Stir frequently.

Dissolve the cornstarch into the water in a separate bowl and then add to saucepan. Mix well. Cook on medium heat for 6-8 minutes, until sauce thickens up.

We ate our Teriyaki Chicken over rice, and added some pineapple and sesame seeds on top. All of my family loved it. While they were gobbling it down my daughter exclaimed "This is Pin-tastic!" I guess that means I'll be making this meal again! 

Crock Pot Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham Casserole

We made a ham for dinner the other day, a big ham... so we've had lots of leftovers. I've been trying to be creative with the dinners I've made with this week, so that we don't get too sick of ham! Of course, that means turning to Pinterest to see what ham pin-spiration I can find. Luckily there are several different recipes pinned for using leftover ham, so I did a quick search and scrolled through the pictures till I found some dishes that looked tasty! 

Since yesterday was going to be busy I decided that something in the crock pot would be a good option, that helped narrow down my search. I came across several recipes for crock pot scalloped potatos and ham. After a bit of searching I found one that called for ingredients that I had on hand, so the ham-using up began! 

I wanted to get all the ham off of my bone so I started by putting it in a large pot, and covering it with water. When the water got boiling pretty good I put the lid on, turned down the heat so it would just simmer, and left it for an hour or so. That made the rest of the ham come right off the bone. It shredded nicely when I chopped it up which was nice consistency in this dish. The added bonus to boiling the ham bone was that I could also use the broth in place of the water in the recipe.

Unfortunately this pin was only linked to the picture, not an actual site with directions, etc. But, it did have directions in the comments section. I doubled the recipe for my family, and substituted cream of chicken soup for the cream of mushroom, because some of my family have an adversion to mushroom soup, and I wanted everyone to eat dinner! 

And they did eat! This turned out delicious. The only thing I would do differently next time is add some extra salt, pepper, and garlic powder. We just spiced it up a little more on our own at the table this time, but I'll just throw in the extra in the future. 

We paired this casserole with fresh steamed broccoli and some pineapple slices. Yum! 

             Here's my version of

Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

               (already doubled)

10 medium potatos, peeled and thinly sliced

3 cups shredded or diced cooked ham

2 cups shredded cheese, any kind you want, I used cheddar and mozzarella because that's what I had on hand

Sauce, mix all together:
   2 cans cream of chicken soup
   2 cups ham broth/water
   1/2 cup chopped onion
   2 tsp garlic powder
   1 tsp salt
   1 tsp pepper

Layer all ingredients in your crock pot, starting with 1/3 of the potatoes, followed by 1/3 of the ham and cheese, and then 1/2 the sauce. Repeat the layering, ending with a layer of cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low, until the potatoes are tender. Serve, and enjoy!