Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles. *You can also sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top if you want more heat.

Recipe from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com

From June 2012 SisteRSpeak.

Kung Pao Chicken

3 boneless chicken breasts or 5-6 thighs

4 TBSP oil
½ cup peanuts
8-14 dried hot chili peppers, with the tops broken off
1 large or 2 small red bell pepper; largely diced
2 zucchinis, cut into bite-sized wedges
3 ½ tsp minced fresh ginger
3-6 green onions with tops cut in ½" pieces

Bowl 1 Marinade:
½ tsp sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
4 tsp water
4 tsp soy sauce 

Bowl 2 Sauce:
3 tsp sugar
3 tsp cornstarch
6 tsp water
6 tsp soy sauce
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
4 TBSP chicken broth

Cut chicken into small pieces. Make mixtures. Pour marinade over chicken and let stand 30 minutes. Reserve sauce until cooking.

1. Heat 1 TBSP oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add peanuts; stir and cook until lightly toasted. Remove peanuts and set aside.
2. Cook red pepper and zucchini in 1 TBSP oil. Stir fry until tender-crisp. Remove from pan.
3. Add 2 TBSP oil in skillet over medium heat. Add chili peppers. Stir-fry until peppers just begin to char, about 1 minute.
4. Increase the heat to high. Add chicken mixture; stir fry 2 minutes. Add ginger; stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 1 minute.
5. Add peanuts, vegetables (including green onions), and sauce mixture to skillet. Cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Serve over white rice.

A few notes.
~We like more peanuts---about 1 cup.
~Be very exact on measuring the ginger.
~The peppers are what give this dish the kick. We like a fair amount of heat so I use about 12.
~Following the steps exactly makes a big difference; I actually use the timer on this. If the cooking takes longer than the suggested time, your heat is not high enough.
~The coloring is a little different than you get in a restaurant-I think they may put a little coloring in it. I tried a little red once and it looked a little closer, but I decided not to bother with that issue. The flavor is awesome!

Submitted by Darcee Waddoups, in honor of Chinese New Year 2012.

"Being married to someone who thinks he's part Chinese (or just really wishes it so. . .) I've learned to cook a lot of Chinese dishes over the years.  One of our favorite family traditions is to eat Chinese food for a week around Chinese New Year.  With that just around the corner (January 23 this year), I thought I'd hijack the recipe corner for a couple of weeks to share some of our favorites.  If you like to cook, maybe you'll try a few.  If not, maybe you'll get take-out.  Either way, Gong Xi Fa Cai  (Happy New Year!)!"

Black Pepper Chicken

3-4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 onions, cut into thin strips
1-2 red peppers, cut into thin strips
3 TBSP soy sauce
1-2 tsp freshly milled black pepper (we tend to like closer to 2 tsp)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Maggi seasoning (purchase online, at an Asian market or borrow from Darcee)**
2 TBSP oil

Marinate chicken in 1 TBSP soy sauce for 10 minutes.

Heat pan and add cooking oil.  When the oil is hot, add chicken and black pepper.  When almost all cooked, add sliced onions and stir fry until aromatic.  Add the red pepper. Stir-fry for 1 minute more and add in remaining soy sauce, sugar and Maggi seasoning.  Serve over rice.

**While you can make this without this seasoning, it makes all the difference in the world for this recipe.

Submitted by Darcee Waddoups in honor of Chinese New Year 2012.

Won Ton Snacks

2 lbs. bulk sausage

2 stalks celery

2 carrots

2 cloves garlic

1 small onion

1 8oz. can water chestnuts

1/2 cup Thai peanut sauce

1 pkg. Wonton wrappers

Cook sausage until done, breaking into fairly small pieces.  Drain off fat and then rinse.  In a food processor, finely chop celery, carrots, garlic, onion and water chestnuts.  The pieces should be small and fairly uniform, but not liquid.  Add to cooked sausage and cook until barely tender.  Add peanut sauce and cook for 5 minutes.  Press wonton wrappers into the cups of a mini muffin pan.  Spoon in mixture.  Pinch tops closed.  Bake for 12 minutes at 350.  Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Submitted by Darcee Waddoups in honor of Chinese New Year 2012.

Cashew Chicken

8 chicken thighs (or 4 breasts) sliced thin

Marinate in 2 TBSP soy sauce and 1/2 tsp garlic.

Cut 6-8 green onions in 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

Measure 1 TBSP chopped ginger and 1 tsp minced garlic; put in bowl and set aside.

6 dried whole red chili peppers, tops broken off

1 cup cashews

Sauce:

2 tsp white sugar

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP chicken broth
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp corn starch

Heat 1 TBSP oil; cook chili peppers until they start to blacken. Add chicken and cook until almost done. Add garlic/ginger and cook with chicken for about 1 minute. Add green onions and sauce. Cook until sauce thickens. Add cashews. Serve over rice.

Beef Benihana

This recipe is in the ward cookbook, but it is good enough to repeat here.

1 TBSP sesame seeds 
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
½ lb. mushrooms, sliced
2 medium zucchini, cut in thin strips
1 lb. boneless beef sirloin, cut in 1/4" strips 
2 TBSP oil 
6 TBSP Teriyaki sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Toast sesame seeds in skillet until brown. Remove. Heat 1 TBSP oil for 30 seconds. Add beef; stir-fry until done. Remove with juices. Add remaining oil. Add onions; stir-fry until they start to soften. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Cook until tender-crisp. Stir remaining ingredients together to make sauce. Add meat, accumulated juices, sesame seeds and sauce. Heat. Serve over hot rice.

Tiny Spicy Chicken

1 1/2 TBSP chili paste

2/3 c ketchup
4 TBSP soy sauce
3/4 c vinegar
1 c sugar
6 TBSP brown sugar
3/4 c chicken broth
1 clove garlic

Cut up 3 lbs. of chicken in small cubes. Sprinkle with garlic salt then coat in cornstarch (about 1 cup). Fry in small batches until lightly browned in oil. Place chicken in 9x13 pan. Mix sauce ingredients together in sauce pan and cook until just boiling. Pour over chicken. Bake @ 350 for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

Submitted by Darcee Waddoups in honor of Chinese New Year 2012.

While this is not my favorite dish, it is probably my kids' favorite Chinese dish and those outside of my family who have eaten it have love it equally.

Won Ton Soup

3 1/2 qts water

10 chicken bouillon cubes
2 TBSP vinegar**
2 TBSP soy sauce
cayenne pepper

1-2 cups broccoli cut into bite sized spears
1-2 cups carrots cut into large match sticks
chopped green onions (we love these so I do quite a few)

Won tons: Fry 1 lb. sausage until completely cooked. Drain and rinse off fat. Cool enough to handle. Put 1 piece of sausage on a won ton square and seal up according to package directions. Set on cookie sheet until ready to cook.

Combine the broth ingredients and simmer together. Add carrots and cook until carrots are tender. Right before serving bring broth to boil. Add just enough broccoli and won tons that you will serve and simmer until broccoli is slightly tender and won tons float. Spoon into bowls removing all broccoli and won tons from pan. Sprinkle green onions in bowls and stir to cook slightly.

Submitted by Darcee Waddoups, in honor of Chinese New Year 2012.

**Tom  likes much more vinegar than me and adds it to his taste in his own bowl afterwards. I hold my breath and close my eyes because I find that quite unpalatable, but true Chinese would likely add much more vinegar that me. You can decide for yourself.