Honey sesame chicken is a popular Chinese takeout order, but you can make a much healthier and more nutritious version at home with your slow cooker.
We love making Asian inspired dinners at home because it allows us to control exactly what ingredients are going into the meal – and we don’t have to skimp on any of the flavour.
With this recipe, you still do a little stir frying (the red and green bell peppers really make the dish pop), but you have the added benefit of tender, slow cooked chicken. After the chicken cooks for a few hours in a honey and soy sauce mixture (you could take this time to brush up on your chopsticks skills), transfer to a skillet or wok along with the vegetables for a quick sauté.
You could serve it over rice (we used a rice cooker to make perfect sticky rice), or in lettuce wraps for a handheld meal. If you want to make this a low-carb recipe, just omit the rice from the lettuce wraps.
Combine soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, ginger and red pepper in slow cooker crock.
Add chicken to soy sauce mixture. Stir to coat chicken with sauce.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or LOW for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
Remove chicken from sauce. Transfer sauce mixture to skillet. Blend cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Over medium-high heat, add cornstarch and cook until thickened. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to sauce. Add red bell pepper strips and cook 4 minutes or until peppers are crisp tender.
Serve over rice. Sprinkle with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
I’m sure you’ve heard people declaring “new year, new me.” But here at Hamilton Beach it’s more like “new year, new soup recipe.”
I love a slow cooker soup. This slimmed-down version is perfect if you’re looking for a soup recipe that nixes the milk, half and half, and cheese. Am I the only one trying to eat less cheese after indulging at all those holiday parties? I didn’t think so.
We started with a pound of dry great northern beans. If you’re used to grabbing a few cans at the grocery store, try buying a bag of dry beans the next time you’re there. They’re cheaper and you can better control the ingredients (for example, some canned beans have added salt and flavouring).
Your Hamilton Beach® slow cooker is a great vessel for soaking dry beans. We added the beans to the crock with 6 cups of water and let them soak overnight. When you wake up, drain the water and leave the beans in the crock before adding the rest of the soup ingredients.
Add all of the ingredients besides the spinach and chicken to the crock and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
Before serving, stir in spinach (or kale) and chicken to heat them through. To save on time, we cut up a rotisserie chicken and added it to the soup. Rotisserie chicken is great to have on hand to throw into soups, pasta, or tacos throughout the week. And at around $5 a piece, you can pick one up at the grocery store before a busy week to ensure you get some protein in every meal.
We topped this colorful chicken soup with a few extra fennel fronds and served it with a crunchy, dunkable baguette. Feel free to skip the bread if you’re being extra strict with your diet this time of year. Whether you’re serving it for family dinner on a chilly winter night or making it for your weekly meal prep, this soup is sure to satisfy.
Place beans in slow cooker crock. Add 6 cups of water and let soak overnight. Drain and leave beans in crock.
In a Dutch oven over medium-high, melt butter. Add fennel, onion and garlic. Cook just until fragrant. Add to slow cooker crock.
Add remaining ingredients except chicken and spinach to crock.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or LOW for 6 to 7 hours or until beans are tender. Add chicken and spinach and cook until heated through.
At my house, holiday meal side dishes get just as much attention as the turkey. Green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce – it’s hard to choose a favourite. So of course I help myself to a little of everything and fill my plate to the rim each holiday.
If you need another tasty side to add to the holiday buffet, throw this slow cooker corn casserole into the mix.
This easy, cheesy recipe cooks from start to finish in the slow cooker, freeing stovetop up for finishing the gravy and your oven for baking the dinner rolls.
Stir together creamed corn, frozen corn, corn muffin mix, Greek yogurt, shredded cheddar cheese, butter, eggs, minced onion, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker crock and cook.
With the slow cooker covered, cook on HIGH for 2 ½ to 3 hours or on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
What’s great about slow cookers (especially on holidays) is that they function as both cooking and serving vessels. Switch your slow cooker to WARM and place the slow cooker on your buffet so your guests can serve themselves. I don’t know about you, but having one less dish to wash during the post-Thanksgiving cleanup marathon is welcome.
Prefer to leave the slow cooker in the kitchen? Transfer the corn casserole from the crock to a festive dish. Just sprinkle with chives and bacon (oh yes!) before taking it to the table.
Slow cooker corn casserole is a little salty, a little sweet, and a creamy addition to your already-too-full holiday plate.
Spray slow cooker crock with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together canned corn, corn, corn muffin mix, yogurt, shredded cheese, butter, eggs, onion, salt and pepper. Pour into slow cooker crock.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 ½ to 3 hours or LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
You may know pork as “the other white meat,” but thanks to this slow cooker pork chop recipe it’s now the other slow cooker protein. Chicken and pot roast are great for slow cooker meals, but don’t forget about pork.
If you want to break away from your go-to salsa chicken and slow cooker chili recipes, incorporate these smothered ranch pork chops into the weekday dinner cycle.
This 6-ingredient recipe is made with things you likely already have in the pantry, making it a convenient dinner option for busy weeknights when time and effort are lacking.
Spray your slow cooker crock with nonstick cooking spray then add cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and black pepper. Next add your bone-in pork chops to the crock and fully coat with the mixture. Cook of HIGH for 2 ½ to 3 hours or LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
Smothered pork chops can be served with a variety of simple sides for a low-maintenance, comforting dinner. We served these creamy chops with red potatoes and sugar snaps peas but they’d be delicious served over warm mashed potatoes (with extra gravy from the slow cooker, of course) or even brown rice. Think outside chicken and beef the next time you plug in your slow cooker.
I think we can all agree that cheese plus potatoes equals deliciousness. Whether you’re enjoying potatoes au gratin or a piled-high plate of poutine, having a little cheese with your potatoes is always a good idea.
The holidays are no exception. If you want another potato-centric side for your Turkey Day spread, plug in your Hamilton Beach slow cooker and make cheesy scalloped potatoes.
Add flour to the slow cooker crock then gradually whisk in milk, chicken broth, salt and ground white pepper. Stir in sliced potatoes. We sliced our potatoes in seconds using the Hamilton Beach® Stack & Snap Food Processor.
This appliance stays on my countertop (and gets a workout) during the holiday season. Whether I’m whipping up a quick dip or chopping carrots, celery, and onions for a hearty winter soup, it’s nice to know I don’t have to spend time manually slicing and dicing.
After the ingredients are mixed together, cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH For 3 to 4 hours or on LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
When the potatoes are finished cooking, switch the slow cooker to WARM. Then stir in gruyere, cheddar, and parmesan cheeses. Pro tip: use your food processor’s shredding disc to shred the cheese as well.
For the finishing touch, broil a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and butter for 2 to 3 minutes until they turn golden brown. Sprinkle your cheesy potatoes with the breadcrumbs and a little bit of fresh rosemary and serve.
This dish is prime time comfort food. Whether it makes it’s way to your Holiday table or you serve it alongside pot roast for a classic meat & potatoes meal, slow cooker cheesy scalloped potatoes is a wintertime side you’ll make over and over again.
Add flour to slow cooker crock. Gradually whisk in milk, chicken broth, salt and white pepper.
Stir in sliced potatoes.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
Turn slow cooker to WARM. Remove cover; stir in shredded Gruyere, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup shredded cheddar over top.
Meanwhile, heat broiler on HIGH.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs and butter. Spread crumb mixture in an even layer over foil on baking sheet. Place under broiler 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Sprinkle over scalloped potatoes and serve immediately.
We love making Asian inspired dinners at home because it allows us to control exactly what ingredients are going into the meal – and we don’t have to skimp on any of the flavour.
