slow cooker success #5: sweet and sour any kind of meat

So this is a recipe that is a bit of a family standard. My parents have been making this forever, usually with spareribs, and is my go-to lazy dinner of standard pantry items. Serve it on it's own or on rice, it makes great hot sandwiches -- whatever turns your crank. We'll go with chicken for this one cuz that's what I typically use;

Sweet and Sour Chicken

chicken thighs (about 8 is good for dinner and leftovers for the week)

1 cup of brown sugar

1 - 1.5 cups of vinegar (start with 1 and add more later if you need it, I also like to mix up my vinegars and use half a cup of one kind, and half a cup of another cuz I'm crazy like that)

a pile of fresh grated ginger -- I like lots but use however much you want as long as it's fresh.

1 big can of pasta sauce (this is not the place to get fancy. There's a lot of strong flavours in here so best not to use your basil and garlic with gorgonzola sauce etc. You could make your own sauce if you're so inclined but as I said, this is my lazy pantry stock dinner so I use a big can of Bravo)

minced garlic

1 can of tomato paste

chopped onion

salt and pepper

1. Season your chicken with salt and pepper and sear it with your onions and garlic.

2. Dump all that into your crock pot.

3. Pour in your pasta sauce, brown sugar, vinegar(s), and grate in the ginger.

4. Stir it all up, turn on your slow cooker to low and walk away.

5. Stir occasionally and add the tomato paste if you want it to be thicker.

6. Sample about an hour into the cooking to see if you want more tang -- if so, add more vinegar.

7. Cook on low all day or until the texture is to your liking. I like the meat to fall apart and shred but some people don't.

8. Serve on top of rice or whatever you want.