Chicken in Honey Sauce (a.k.a. Sesame Chicken)

Today I was home from work and decided to make something in the CrockPot.  For Christmas, my mom gave me 2 different cookbooks: one that focuses on Campbell's soup products and one that is a Rival CrockPot cookbook.  Flipping through the pages of the Rival book led me to a recipe titled "Chicken in Honey Sauce," and I picked it because I had all the ingredients waiting for me in the kitchen.

Much to my disappointment, this dish didn't taste half as good as it smelled while it was cooking during the day.  In fact, the longer it cooked, the less-appetizing it smelled--which leads me to believe that IF I cook it again, I'll have to cut the cooking time WAY down. The recipe called to set the CrockPot on LOW for 6-8 hours, and I cooked mine for 8 hours (I used frozen chicken breasts, so I wanted to make sure they were cooked through).  The outcome of this particular trial-run was gross.  Something in the sauce (maybe the honey?) tasted burnt, and infused that same taste throughout the chicken.  

It was bad enough to throw away two plates that were more than half-full.  ::::hangs head in shame:::: Luckily, The Mr. was willing to go out and forage for dinner at a local pizza joint. 

If you plan to try this recipe, pay careful attention to the cooking time.  Perhaps my CrockPot cooks hotter than others, or maybe I just need to cook it for less time.  Either way, trust your nose-- when it smells the best is probably when you should go ahead and serve the meal.


--adapted from the Rival CrockPot Simple 1-2-3 Slow Cooker Recipes

Note: The following recipe is 1/2 of what was listed in the cookbook.

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 c. honey

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. ketchup

2 T. oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Sesame Seeds (to garnish)

Directions:

1.  Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker. (I used frozen chicken breasts for the first time in this recipe).

2.  In a bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Pour mixture over chicken breasts. 

3.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours.

4.  Garnish with sesame seeds befre serving.  Serve with rice.

Verdict: Disappointed, but may try again... someday.

I need time to let my broken heart heal from this travesty before I try to make this one again.