Yeah, I know, this one’s a bit different. It was just so good I had to share it. Don’t judge me.
I love my slow cooker. It’s like a witches’ cauldron that takes simple ingredients and turns them into dishes that are far more than the sum of their parts.
This recipe is a great example of the slow cooker’s magical powers. During the cooking process the vinegar mellows in flavour and mingles with the juices from the meat and veggies to create a mildly sweet sauce.
You could also modify this recipe to leave out the meat if you just want the veggies to pair with something else.
Notes
The quantities here will serve two people with plates like you see in the picture and fit in a 3.5 litre slow cooker. You can halve or double the quantities to suit but be aware that different sized slow cookers may affect the results in terms of how much juice you have left over.
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large carrots, cut into thick rounds or approx 250g baby carrots, trimmed
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1⁄2 tsp pepper
- 1⁄2 tsp garlic powder
- 1⁄2 tsp dried basil
- 1⁄2 cup (approx 120 ml) balsamic vinegar
- 4 tbsp honey
- 1 onion, sliced
- 250g green beans
Instructions
- Spread the oil and garlic around the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Arrange the carrots in a layer.
- Lay the chicken over the carrots.
- Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, vinegar and honey — vinegar and honey are the last two steps in that order, so the vinegar picks up the flavours and the honey coats the meat.
- Arrange the onion in a layer on top.
- Cover and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
- 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the green beans on top.
- Plate up the meat and veggies and drizzle with the remaining sauce.
If your juice is thin after cooking:
- Strain the juice into a saucepan.
- Save the remaining bits and spread them over the chicken — very tasty!
- Reduce the sauce over a high heat until thickened, should only take a few minutes.
Modified from a recipe by Tasty.