Serving Up {Chicken}: Honey Bourbon Chicken

With the warmer weather of summer now upon us (we've only had short glimpses of summer, truth be known), it is really nice to fall back on crock pot recipes so that I don't have to heat up the entire kitchen.  I also find myself using the crock pot frequently on Sundays, at least with our current church schedule, so that dinner is ready when I walk in the door at 4:45 p.m.

This recipe was a pinterest find that was very well received by the entire family.  But to feed the entire family I had to use more than the 1 pound of chicken that the original recipe called for.  The first time I made it we had guests over for dinner so I tripled the chicken amount to 3+ pounds and then doubled the recipe for the sauce.  I still felt that there was more sauce than was needed, which was a waste of ingredients in my book.  So as I wrote this recipe, I wrote the amounts for the sauce as the original recipe called for but would suggest using 2-3 pounds of chicken to that amount.  There is still PLENTY of sauce and then you don't have to cringe when sauce is thrown out (or am I the only one that hates to waste honey at it's current price point?).

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HONEY BOURBON CHICKEN
(recipe from Real Mom Kitchen)
printable version

2-3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (chicken breasts could be substituted but thighs are more moist)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup of honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-2 Tbsp. cornstarch
hot rice
sesame seeds, optional

Salt and pepper the chicken and place in your crockpot.  Place the onion on top of the chicken.
In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Pour mixture over the chicken in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Remove chicken from crock pot and slice into strips and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 1 Tbsp water. Pour the sauce from the crock pot into a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the cornstarch mixture, stirring to combine.  Heat and stir as it thickens.  If the sauce is not thick enough repeat with another tablespoon of the cornstarch/water.

Place the chicken back in a serving dish and pour the thickened sauce over it and and stir well to coat.
Serve chicken over cooked rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).