Crock Pot Honey Mustard Chicken

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-19-15**

One of the meats I cook with most in my crock pot is chicken. We love chicken in our house, and it’s so versatile with how you can cook it and what you can put it in, like soups. I came across this week’s recipe online as a healthy crock pot recipe. It is only 200 calories per serving, and this recipe makes 4 servings. It’s easy to throw together, and I had most ingredients in my house already actually. Now, I am generally not a fan of mustard, but this is delicious. The honey balances out the mustard nicely, along with the other spices and ingredients. The original recipe says to cut the chicken in strips, but I chose to shred it up and serve it over mashed baby red potatoes, SO GOOD! The sauce from this is pretty tasty, which is why I chose to serve it over potatoes, but you can just serve it on it’s own if you would like with a side of your choice.  I did thicken the sauce up to make it a bit more gravy-like (2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water, then added to the crock pot), and it was really delicious.

Crock Pot Honey Mustard Chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon country-style (coarse-grain) mustard
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper

Place chicken in the crock pot, and add sliced onions on top. In a small bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients, and then pour over the chicken & onions in the crock. Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Serve on it’s own or shred up to serve over potatoes or rice. If you want a thicker sauce, add in 2tsp corn starch dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water at the end.

With the chill in the air and leaves on the ground, it’s time to pull out that crock pot! And back by popular demand, is Julie’s Crock of the week! Every week during the winter months, Julie Jacobs will share a slow cooker recipe to help warm up your belly.

Here comes Christmas! So, this week’s recipe is geared at helping you with your holiday meal. My mom’s side of the family usually enjoys a ham for Christmas dinner, and I recently came across this recipe online and thought I would give it a go. Yes, it’s true! Ham in a crock pot! Slow Cooker Honey Baked Ham. I have to give a shout out to where I found this recipe, it is a fantastic cooking blog called “Six Sister’s Stuff.” You really need to follow them, so many delicious recipes! I also spaced out and forgot to take a photo of my ham yesterday when I made it, so I am posting their pic from their blog. Check them out! And wow, did the house smell good yesterday while this was cooking. I did have to cut a chunk of the end off to fit it in my crock pot, but if yours is too big, look here for how to cook it without the lid http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/12/slow-cooker-honey-baked-ham.html

Slow Cooker Honey Baked Ham

7-10lb spiral ham (mine was about 8lbs)
2 Tbs brown dijon mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup water

Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. In a saucepan, mix together the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the water. Simmer together for a few minutes until all is melted together. Put the water in the crock with the ham, and then pour the saucepan mixture over ham.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, basting every hour or so.

If you would like, you can make a glaze/gravy from the juices when your ham is done. Put the juices in a saucepan with 2T cornstarch and 1T water. i skipped this step because the hame was so good as it was! Again, this pic is not mine, it’s from the Six Sister’s Blog (link above!)

Honey Parmesan Pork Roast

OK, the holidays are over, so we can all get back on track! I haven't had much time for crocking over the holidays, so I apologize for not getting a recipe up last week. But I am making up for it with this one! Now, let me just say that I am not a huge fan of pork, but my husband is, so I thought I would try this recipe, because if seasoned right, I do enjoy a pork roast. Awesome thing about making this in a crock pot is that the leftovers shredded up so easily, that we have a bunch of shredded pork in the freezer, just waiting to be thawed and slathered with sauce for some pulled pork sandwiches. Now THAT is a pork dish that I enjoy! This dish also makes it's own gravy, although I didn't have the best of luck with it, but I am not good at gravy in general. I made some mashed baby red potatoes with it, and it was a very tasty supper.

Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork Roast

1 (2-3 pound) boneless pork roast
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic, oil and salt; pour over pork. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Remove meat to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice roast; serve with gravy.