A Southern Grace: swour (it'll make sense in a second)(i hope)

April 20, 2015

swour (it'll make sense in a second)(i hope)

Yum

I'm definitely on a sweet and sour kick lately. Isn't it interesting how our taste buds transform and develop over time?


I'd say that I was never particularly enamored of sweet and sour foods as a kid, but that's not entirely true. One of my favorite things when I was younger was chicken nuggets dipped in sweet-and-sour sauce from a fast food establishment that I'll leave unnamed. So I guess even then, I had a preference for the combination.


This meal is super easy to prepare--the slow cooker does most of the heavy lifting. The night before we ate this, I mixed together the sauce ingredients and left them in the fridge, ready to dump into the slow cooker the next morning. When I got home from work the evening of the meal, I simply shredded up the cooked and flavor-infused chicken, thickened the sauce on the stove, and cooked some rice. Wham, spam, thank you ma'am, dinner is served.

Before.
After.

Though I didn't have any green onions to use as a garnish, it won't be long before ours are ready to eat! We already have some mature lettuce, which we ate dressed lightly as a delightful side salad. Talk about eating local--hooray for garden successes!


Pineapple Pepper Poultry (Slow Cooker Style)(aka Swour Chicken from the Slooker)
Adapted from this recipe
Ingredients:
  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup pineapple tidbits, with juice
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 6 tablespoons cold water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Directions:
Spray the bowl of the slow cooker with nonstick spray.
Place the pieces of chicken, pineapple tidbits, and chopped pepper into the bowl.
Evenly sprinkle the spices and seasonings over the ingredients in the pot.
Mix together honey, soy sauce, ketchup, olive oil, and pineapple juice in a small bowl and pour the sauce mixture over the ingredients in the pot.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Remove most of the sauce from the slow cooker and pour it into a saucepan over medium heat.
Mix together the cold water and cornstarch and stir into the sauce.
Cook sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. This only takes a couple of minutes.
Turn the heat down to low, add the mixture still in the slow cooker to sauce, and break or shred up the chicken into smaller pieces; stir to coat while simmering.
Remove from heat and sauce will thicken more as it cools.
Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions if desired.

17 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Mouthwatering! And that lettuce looks delicious.

Cheers,

Rosa

Barbara said...

Happy Belated Birthday, Grace!
I like your bright, fresh salad...tastes so much better when you grow it yourself, doesn't it?
Ah...sweet and sour chicken. Something my ex adored....in the pork version and I made it often. Remember getting the recipe from Chinese friends in the Air Force days. Haven't made it in years and you've reminded me how much I liked it.

Angie's Recipes said...

I harvested some lettuce for the lunch today too. Your salad looks so delightful. Haven't had sweet and sour chicken in ages...now I am craving it!

foodhoe said...

Ha! I like swour from the slooker. It is making my stomach growl

lisa is cooking said...

I love a swour mix of flavors! This sauce sounds great with chicken. And, I've so jealous of your pretty lettuce. Looks perfect!

Marjie said...

It looks really good. I love finding new ways to cook chicken.

~~louise~~ said...

Ha, ha, I made Sweet and Sour Chicken for dinner tonight from some leftover chicken from last night. I sure could have used some of that lovely lettuce of yours last night Grace, You lucky girl! I have a feeling you are going to have a bountiful year:)

I must try your "Swour from the Slooker" version it is way different than the recipe I used for the leftovers. Although, I think I'll keep the broccoli I added tonight!

Thanks so much for sharing, Grace. I LOVE that your recipe has honey in it! I can't wait to try it. I've only "learned" to appreciate sweet and sour in my later years:)

P.S. Not back to blogging yet. Just popping by for a nibble:)

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies said...

Sounds so good!
It's finally getting warm enough here we can start think about planting lettuce. Soon, but not soon enough!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

It is funny how it works since now I find myself craving sweet and sour :-)

Cali said...

Delish! Got to love a meal that you can put together over the lunch hour and will be waiting for you when you come home from work!

Katerina said...

I think we are in the same mood lately! I love it! Teriyaki is my favorite sauce!

Joanne said...

I've definitely become more into sweet+sour in my old age. Love this and so excited for your garden!

Unknown said...

I love sweet and sour too, sounds great. Your garden bits are looking fab!

Marcela said...

Such a great idea! I love it! It's making my stomach growl...

I Wilkerson said...

Can't beat a quick tasty dinner after work! And a belated happy birthday (which I realized I should have said as soon as I hit ENTER on my last comment).

Carolyn Jung said...

Great job on the container garden. Growing your own makes life so much easier -- and tastier!

Savor The Baking said...

I'm up for a lot of slow cooker recipes these days with Summer being right around the corner. This looks delicious.