Review: Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

Original Recipe:

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken -

 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Cut the chicken into large bite-sized chunks. Put everything into your crockpot and stir it around until everything is mixed up. Cover it and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 to 6 hours. Serve over white rice.

Chicken breast is expensive, so I just used a whole chicken instead. I also found that you don't really need the brown sugar and can just omit it for the natural juices that come in the fruit cans. I mixed my juices together and froze it for use at a later time to avoid waste. I recommend seasoning to taste, I made some adjustments at the end but overall I was in love with this meal. I cooked on low all day, just a set it and forget it type meal then when the chicken was done I just took it out and removed all the meat from the bones then mixed it back into the gravy and dished it onto rice. Another hit with the kids, every plate was cleared and though I was hesitant about the fruit, it ended up being my favorite part and did not become too mushy after being left in a crock pot for 6+ hours. Here is my break down of price.

(prices after coupons and stockpile savings)
Whole chicken - 3.48 @ .99lb
Seasonings, including sugar and cornstarch- pennies over time
1 large can of mandarin oranges- 1.58
2 cans of pineapple- .99 each
1 box of boil in the bag rice (Now there are many ways to save on rice here, you can cook it yourself for the full time and ultimately the lowest cost or you can buy instant rice. I need to save time so I went with the latter. If I had a rice cooker though I'd have been all over option number 1.) 1.00
= approximately .80 a serving with leftovers.

In the end I added a bit of sea salt because the sauce was a little on the bland side. I then added more ginger and just a touch of garlic. This dish is an instant favorite, will definately make it again!