Most of us think that slow cookers are only for winter months. But they work for fast easy during-the-week dinners too. And leftovers are yummy. Cooking with kids when using a slow cooker is easy – you can let them throw everything in – go out and play and there it is – ready for dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium) ( you do the chopping – the children put it into the cooker)
- 1/3 cup of marmalade ( orange is best but we use our grapefruit marmalade which is tangy as well) – yes, licking the spoon after it’s been used is permitted!
- 1/2 cup orange juice ( have a small glass for each child to put in 1/4 cup and show them how to measure it!)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar ( the children should have a teeny taste of these ingredients so that they know what they taste like and then you can ask them if they can taste them in the dish once it is done – it is never too soon to cultivate a culinary preference )
- 2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger ( we cut ours from our farm – it is the bulb that counts)
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces ( all from our little farm)
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 3 cups hot cooked white rice ( I like Basmati best – but brown works too)
Preparation
1. Combine first 12 ingredients in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Serve over rice.
2. Use a rice cooker which can be started in the last hour of cooking the chicken – and will stay hot and ready for you until you are ready to eat.
I bet there will not be a lot left but if there is – its a great next day lunch meal too!
Below is a picture of a recent JAM TASTING that we had at The Little Farm – yes, we do JAM tasting like people do WINE tasting since I make about 36 different jams from our exotic fruit trees. It’s fun!
