Shredded Buffalo Crock Pot Chicken

4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
1 package dry ranch salad dressing mix
1/2 to 1 cup of chicken broth (optional)
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
Blue Cheese Dressing (optional)
6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Directions: Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the bottle of wing sauce, the package of ranch dressing mix, and chicken broth. Cover, and cook on low for 3 hours.Remove the chicken from the Crock Pot and shred it. Add the butter now if you so desire. Place back into the Crock Pot and let cook for at least 1 more hour, or up to 7 hours if your Pot does not have a warming option. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.  Add blue cheese dressing to your sandwiches for added flavor.

Comments: This recipe is all over the Internet so I wanted to try it.  It is pretty tasty!  Many of the comments said that the wing sauce cooked dry while the chicken was cooking.  I added the chicken broth to avoid this problem, but then thought it was a bit soupy.  I used a cornstarch slurry to barely thicken the juice before I put the chicken back in and this worked great. I chose to not add the butter.  I didn't think it needed it. I have found if I cook chicken breast more than 3 or 4 hours on low in the Pot they get dry and grainy so I would aim for less time than more.

Crock Pot Honey Chicken

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes ( I add more because I like it a bit spicier.)
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/3 cup water
Sesame seeds, these are best toasted in a skillet, but this is  not necessary to dish.
3 scallions, chopped

Rice, brown or white.  Prepare separately according to package instructions.

DIRECTIONS: Place chicken in Crock Pot and season both sides with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 2 hours. Remove chicken to a cutting board, leaving sauce. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces; set aside. In a small bowl, dissolve 4 teaspoons cornstarch in 1/3 cup water; add to crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Cover and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes, or until slightly thickened.

TO SERVE: Add cooked rice to 4 plates, top with chicken and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

Recipe adapted from Comfort of Cooking

Comments: This recipe was a great way to serve chicken in the Crock Pot with a new flavor. I cooked my chicken breast 4 hours and left to warm for several more and found the chicken to be a bit dry. So, this is not a recipe I would leave in the pot all day. I will probably tweak the recipe next time to create a stronger sweet, hot flavor. But, even without any changes I will make it again. I am always looking for something else to do with chicken.