Slow-Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken

Not my finest picture, but it shows the chicken in the slow cooker.

I ran off to work in a rush the other day and realized I wasn't sure if I had anything to make for dinner, as it had been awhile since I'd gone to the store. I knew we had two chicken breasts and I always keep a few ingredients stashed in the pantry - low sodium chicken broth, Montreal seasoning. I asked John to throw them in the slow cooker, and when I got home I had the ingredients needed for a honey mustard and red onion barbeque sauce, courtesy of Rachael Ray. While I used my Rachael Ray cookbook, I found her original recipe online, in case you'd like to go off her recipe instead of what I did.

This chicken, after slowly cooking all day, was so moist and juicy that it practically fell apart. I had a later thought that with buns this would make awesome pulled chicken - like pulled pork - sandwiches. Alas we ate ours with some leftover roasted potatoes, reheated in the oven, and some sweet corn. It felt like a summer meal, but it was a breeze to put together.

Ingredients:
*boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 2 but I think you could use more)
*low sodium chicken broth (1 cup, plus enough to fill halfway up chicken breasts in slow cooker)
*montreal seasoning (optional but I love the little extra it added to the dish)
*1/2 red onion, chopped finely
*1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
*1/4 cup brown sugar
*1/2 cup honey mustard
*1/2 teaspoon allspice
*1/2 teaspoon curry powder
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation:
*Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Fill with enough chicken broth so that the bottom half of the breasts are covered. Sprinkle some Montreal seasoning on it. A few shakes should do. Set the slow cooker to low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

*When you get home from work, or when the chicken has about a half hour or less time remaining, start putting the sauce together.  Pour vegetable oil in a small saucepan and saute onions for about 5 minutes. (I waited for mine to brown slightly because I wanted to be sure they gave a sweet taste and weren't too noticeable texturally.)

*Add vinegar and reduce by half, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook for 1 minute to incorporate. Whisk in broth, honey mustard, allspice and curry powder. Bring sauce to a bubble, and reduce to low heat.

*Drain broth from the slow cooker, preserving chicken. Put the chicken back into the slow cooker and pour in the sauce, mixing it well so it coats all the chicken. Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how you'd like your chicken. For a more pulled chicken cook longer. For firmer chicken cook shorter.

*Serve with your choice of sides and enjoy this easy meal! :)

Chopped onion ready to be sauted.

My bubbling sauce, almost ready for the slow cooker.

The whole meal! The chicken was so tender it fell apart as I served it.

A closer look at the chicken. Not the prettiest meal, but tastes delicious!