Foodie Fridays - Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbeque Chicken

All right yall, it’s that time of year, the time of year where the temps are getting hotter and I honestly don’t want to be slaving away over a hot stove making my already hot house any hotter.    Running an oven for 45 minutes to an hour?  Are you crazy?  My kitchen, living room, and dining area are all one big room which I love.  But and that’s a big but (and I cannot lie) since it’s a shared space my oven can heat that entire room.  Nice for the winter, but miserable during the summer.

What’s a girl to do?  Crockpot time!

I own two and as I've said on Facebook in the past, don’t judge.   I own a big one and a smaller one.  The large one is 8 quarts and the other is 5 quarts.  The large one is great for whole meals and the smaller one for sides and dips.   And yes I will run both at the same time. 

So shoot me. 

There are several great things about crockpots.  One they put off very little heat, two they use very little electricity, and three even the simplest of recipes tastes great if it’s been simmering for 4 to 8 hours.  The cheapest cuts of meat will fall off the bone.  I especially like to use them when I’m on vacation and want to put supper on the table with as little effort as possible.  Because who wants to slave away in the kitchen when you’re on vacation? 

This recipe is so simple and can be adjusted to feed a crowd.  The shredded chicken is great rolled up in tortillas topped with shredded cabbage, avocado, and sour cream or served on hoagie buns dripping with the sauce that’s been cooking all day.  Either way it's a hit at my house.   My recipe is a little different from the original and I adjust the red pepper flakes so that my little two year old girl gets to enjoy some too.  She loves it!

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Crockpot Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
1 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 small onion sliced
1/2 cup water

Spray crockpot with nonstick spray and layer chicken breasts in the bottom.  Mix ingredients together and pour over chicken.  Cook on low 4 to 6 hours or until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.  

For this meal I cooked the baked beans in my smaller cockpot.  I used a well known brand of baked beans and just added diced onion, mustard, a few tablespoons of brown sugar, some left over bacon from breakfast, and a ½ cup of water.  Cooked on low all day they were delicious!   The last thing I had to do was roast some asparagus and zucchini in the oven for about thirty minutes.  Seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper they were a nice addition of something green to this plate.  You can see how I roast my asparagus HERE.  Apply that same principle to sliced zucchini and OMG.

I know it’s been a while since I posted a foodie Friday post, but hopefully I can get back in the swing of things.  I have several things in the works for you and if you want to see what I’m cooking during the week check out my Instagram feed. If you see something you would like to see the recipe for just let me know.

Until next time my lovelies!

*Recipe from Pinterest*