Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Orange chicken is a guilty pleasure of mine at any Chinese buffet.  I never order it for takeout, but when it’s there in front of me at a buffet, I go to town!  I was craving this dish recently, but had no desire to head to a buffet.  So, I decided to give this meal a try in my slow cooker.  My pinspiration came from this recipe, but I pretty much went rogue, adding some veggies and changing the sauce up a bit.  The end-product was delicious (although a little dark from the slow cooker).  Don’t get me wrong, I love my slow cooker, but I wish it didn’t suck the color out of everything!  There is a solution though!  Just sprinkle some fresh herbs on the final product to brighten it up.  Works like a charm every time!

Start with the chicken…

• Cut 2 pounds of chicken cutlet into bite-sized pieces.

• Lay the chicken out on a cutting board.
• Sprinkle some flour over the chicken.

• Toss to coat all sides.

• Heat some EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat.

• Add the chicken.

• Cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.

• Add the chicken to your slow cooker.

• Chop up 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, and 1 onion.

• Add the peppers and onion to the slow cooker.

• Chop up 1 bunch of scallions.

• Add about two-thirds of the scallions to the slow cooker.

• Add one small can of mandarin oranges in pear juice.

• Add 1 can of thawed orange juice concentrate to a bowl.

• Sprinkle in some salt.
• Pour in a little balsamic vinegar.

• Add about 6 tablespoons of soy sauce.

• Squeeze in about 3 tablespoons of ketchup.

• Finish the sauce with some brown sugar.

• Whisk everything together.

• Pour into the slow cooker.

• Toss everything to combine.

• Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

• Serve over rice.

Top with the remaining scallions to brighten it up.

Looks sooo much better, right?!

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken (serves 8)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds chicken cutlets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ⅓ cup flour
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can mandarin oranges in pear juice
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6 teaspoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:

• Lay the pieces of chicken out on a cutting board.
• Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and toss to coat all sides.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.
• Add the chicken to your slow cooker.
• Add the peppers and onion to the slow cooker.
• Add the mandarin oranges, along with two-thirds of the scallions.
• In a bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, the salt, the balsamic vinegar, the soy sauce, the ketchup, and the brown sugar.
• Mix well and pour into the slow cooker.
• Toss everything in the slow cooker to combine.
• Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
• Serve over rice.
• Top with the remaining scallions.

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