Crock Pot Orange Pineapple Chicken

We all love Orange Chicken, be it from Panda Express or from the deli counter at Walmart. When I saw several recipes for it on Pinterest recently, I knew that we had to try it. Those glazed chicken pictures just called to me. They all look like Panda Express Orange Chicken. While reading the recipes, I realized that without battering and deep frying, the recipes won't turn out like the pictures, not if made in a crock pot! I was intrigued by the idea of using concentrated orange juice as the base of the sauce, as directed by many of those recipes.

Now, this is BIG...This recipe doesn't make that kind of Panda Express Orange Chicken. This is WET chicken, not deep fried or battered, and it doesn't end up glazed. So, while it isn't Panda Express Orange Chicken, it IS good and tasty.




CROCK POT ORANGE PINEAPPLE CHICKEN

Ingredients:
 

4 thighs with skin and bones (You could use all thighs, all tenderloins, or breasts)

8-10 chicken tenderloins

3/4 cup baby carrots

3 stalks celery, sliced thin

2 large red, orange or green bell peppers (I didn't have any when I first made it, dang it!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can Mandarin oranges, with the juice

1 cup pineapple chunks

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp pepper or to taste

8 ounces orange juice concentrate, thawed

**You could even add a splash of soy sauce for a more Oriental taste, maybe even a dash of Sesame Oil

 

Place the chicken chunks in the bottom of the crock pot and then put the fruit and veggies on top

Mix the orange juice concentrate with the spices and pour over the fruit and chicken

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4

 

We served it with Jasmine rice.

 

This gets a FOUR out of FIVE on the Family Rating

as one child was not fond of it: