I love to have guests visit me here with delicious recipes to share. Today please join me in welcoming Crystal of the blog Crystal and Co. Crystal is no stranger to this blog as she’s been a long time Menu Plan Monday participant and just recently became an Org Junkie sponsor as well! That’s her ad over there in the sidebar 🙂
Crystal shares so many easy recipes on her site so be sure to check them all out for some yummy menu planning inspiration!! Thanks Crystal!
As back to school is approaching are you growing worried about juggling the new routine, after school activities, homework duty and all the hustle and bustle this time of year can bring? And what about dinner? Does the clock strike six during the school year and you have no idea what you’ll be putting on the table?
I have been there!
As a mom of many, I am a huge believer in easy recipes. They are what make the world go round. Over on my mommy resource site I share with my readers an index of over 50 easy recipes. Meals that require little to no babysitting with short ingredient lists are the only kind I make. The majority of my recipes are crockpotable. (My new favorite made-up word.)
Love to make Chinese take-out at home? Here is a super simple Orange Chicken recipe that is perfect for back to school time and is made in the crockpot. Yum!
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of frozen popcorn chicken (for a gluten-free version 8-10 frozen chicken tenders)
- 1 (12 oz.) bag frozen stirfry veggies
- 1 (20 oz.) bottle Orange Sauce (I used Panda Express brand)
Toss the frozen popcorn chicken and the bag of frozen veggies into your crockpot. I used my 6 qt oval crock.
Pour the entire bottle of Orange Sauce over the chicken and veggies and pop the lid on the crockpot.
How easy is that?
I cooked this on high for 4 hours and it was perfect. (My 6 qt, oval, crockpot is digital and has a built-in timer which I love.) You could also cook on low for about 8 hours.
I served this over steamed rice and dinner was done.
If you would like, you can add a delicious green dinner salad to the side and top with your favorite sesame dressing.
Finish off the meal with a fortune cookie if you would like. My kids love them and it makes it seem more like a fun take-out dinner at home.
I hope you’ll hop over and check out my site Crystal & Co., where I share mommy solutions and resources with my readers. You just might find something useful over there!
m @ random musings says
would this recipe work using raw chicken? obviously loses a bit of the “take-out” flavor, but I have some boneless chicken breasts in the freezer…
Crystal & Co says
Raw chicken breasts would work just fine. You might want to cook it for 6 hours instead of 4.
You could also just cook the sauce and chicken together in the crock and then add the veggies half way through.
gf mommy says
Is there a gf orange sauce comparable to Panda Express? I think theirs has gluten, so even with chicken tenders, it would not be gluten-free. 🙁
And it looks soooo good….
Crystal & Co says
gf mommy-
San-J makes a gluten free Orange Sauce and you could just do skinless chicken tenders instead of the breaded version.
Angela says
This looks delicious! Just wondering, how does the breeding hold up in the crockpot? I am always on the lookout for new crockpot recipes and this one looks like a winner!
Crystal & Co says
Angela- the breading does just fine. I think you’d be impressed. It was like real orange chicken from our local take out place. Super easy!
If you’re looking for more easy recipe ideas, make sure you check out my easy recipe index where I share over 50 recipes: http://www.crystalandcomp.com/easy-recipes/
Angela says
Awesome, thank you for the reply!
Jennifer says
Is it crispy and do you have to add the vegs or can it just be the sauce and chicken
Laura Wittmann says
Yes you could definitely just do the sauce and chicken. No it’s not really crispy at all.
Stefanie says
Great chicken crockpot menu, it looks easy that I can do. I will try it.
Tony says
My mouth is watering so much right now. I love chicken, and you’ve made it sound delicious!!!
Jen Chignell says
I tried this the other night and it was great!! I am wondering if I left out some chicken so that I could fit another bag or half bag of veggies would this make the cook time different cause less meat? I cooked the original recipe on low for 6hrs and 45 mins and the chicken was a little dry. It seems that this crock pot (4.5qt) cooks faster or hotter.
Laura says
Yes you could definitely add more veggies. I usually cook chicken in the crockpot for no more than 6 hours. Anywhere between 4 and 6 hours usually.