Test Kitchen Thursday - Thai-Style Chicken

While we were in North Carolina, we ate at a couple of new restaurants. One of them was Thai Room Restaurant on Beach Road. I had the most delicious General Tao Chicken I've ever eaten. Definitely worth a visit if you're on the Outer Banks.

Since then, I've wanted to try making Thai food at home. Luckily I had thawed some chicken, so one night when I found myself with way too much to do and not a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, I made this Thai Chicken dish from my CROCK- POT® Best –Loved Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook.

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces
• 1 cup hot salsa
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• Hot cooked rice
• 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

I used around 2 pounds of split chicken breasts instead of chicken pieces. In addition, I used crunchy peanut butter instead of sprinkling 1/2 cup of chopped peanuts on the chicken at the end. I'm not sure my girls would have eaten the dish with the chopped nuts.

1. Place chicken in CROCK- POT slow cooker. Combine salsa, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and ginger; pour over chicken.
2. Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 9 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.
3. Serve chicken and sauce over rice; sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.

This chicken was very juicy. It cooked in a little over 3 hours on HIGH, and the family loved it. The hot salsa blends nicely with the lime juice, soy sauce, and peanut butter to create a delicious sauce. We had corn as a vegetable before the main dish.

If you make this dish, I hope you'll let me know how it turns out.


Note: That's the Lil Diva (10) and Lil Princess (8) in my banner. As you can see, they have always loved cooking and eating.  :)

Tasty Tuesdays: CROCK-POT® Inspired Lemon Pork Chops

Thank goodness for potluck suppers at church or I might not use my CROCK-POT® slow cooker at all. I wish I got a chance to use it more often, but honestly, I rarely find a recipe everyone likes. The hubby and I usually agree, but one of the kids is destined to hate what I prepare. Ah, the joys of motherhood!

This weekend, I decided to use up some pork chops I had bought on sale at the grocery store. I usually get meats at the butcher, but the store had buy 1, get 2 free, so this ended up being a great deal--even if they were bone-in chops.

I thought Lemon Pork Chops would be a good choice, since so many people usually make chicken dishes for our potlucks. I discovered I didn't have all the ingredients to make this dish according to the recipe, but I'm known for substituting wherever I see fit. Everyone raved about the dish, so I decided to share this one with you. I don't have a picture to show, so I apologize for that.

Here is the recipe per the cookbook.

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 4 boneless pork chops
• 3 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
• 1 large onion, quartered and sliced (optional)
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 large lemon, quartered
• Lemon wedges (optional)

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat until hot. Brown pork chops on both sides. Drain excess fat and discard. Transfer to CROCK-POT slow cooker.
2. Combine tomato sauce, onion, if desired, bell pepper, lemon-pepper seasoning and Worcestershire. Add to CROCK-POT slow cooker.
3. Squeeze lemon juice from lemon quarters over mixture; drop squeezed peels into CROCK-POT slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or until pork is tender. Remove lemon wedges before serving. Garnish with additional lemon wedges, optional.

Here is my recipe:

1 tablespoon of oil

4 pork chops

1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce

1 can (14.5 ounce) stewed tomatoes

1 large onion, quartered and sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Debone pork chops or use boneless chips and cut into strips. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat until hot. Lightly brown pork chops. Drain excess fat and discard. Transfer to CROCK-POT slow cooker.
2. Combine tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, onion, celery, lemon juice, black pepper and Worcestershire. Add to CROCK-POT slow cooker. 
3. Cook on HIGH for 3 hours or until pork is tender.

If I made this at home, I would have served it with white rice. The sauce can be ladled over the rice if desired.