Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

I love chicken. It’s versatile, high in protein, easy to digest, and if you cook it right it can be low in fat as well. It can also be easy to prepare for a low maintenance meal, leaving extra time for the things you really love to do. Like going to the dojo and beating up bad guys in my case. But that’s just me.

Which is why I love cooking with my crock pot. It’s just so darn easy, and it’s a great way to cook chicken. However, I prefer to use either a whole chicken or thighs and drumsticks rather than chicken breasts. I don’t like the texture of chicken breast cooked in the crock pot, but thighs and drumsticks turn out tender, juicy, and tasty.

In this particular recipe, I use bone in chicken thighs and remove the skin before cooking. Here is a quick and easy, down and dirty, but oh so succulent recipe for orange chicken in the crock pot.

Ingredients: 

6 bone in chicken thighs (approximately 2 pounds), skin removed and fat trimmed

salt and pepper to taste

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 TBS Italian seasoning

1 cup orange juice

2 oranges, peeled and separated into segments (you can substitute 1 8 ounce can mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained)

Directions:

Sprinkle thighs with salt and pepper to taste. Spray a large skillet with non stick cooking spray. Brown thighs on both sides on medium heat and place in crockpot. Sprinkle garlic and Italian seasoning over thighs. Add orange juice and orange segments, cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Spoon sauce over chicken before serving. Enjoy!