Crockpot Polynesian Chicken

I feel kind of guilty. While other people have been frolicking on the beach and taking their kids to do all kinds of fun activities this week, my kids have spent their spring break at home watching me do this.

This is what I have collected so far to donate to Goodwill. In a nutshell, I have FOUR children, and I had gotten rid of virtually NONE of their clothes. Sadly, I'm not even close to done. 

In spite of all the heavy labor I've been doing, I've still managed to squeeze in my workouts! In fact, yesterday I did Asylum 1 Vertical Plyo. The good part about spring break is I get to sleep later. The bad part is my kids have been awake everyday before I even started my workout. 

As I was doing Vertical Plyo yesterday, baby girl came down to do it with me. Yay. Just what I wanted in my child-free zone. 

She was actually pretty cute though. She was trying to copy everything I did. And then, at one blessed point during the exercise, she said, "Mommy, you're on the T.V!" 

I said, "Huh?" 'Cause I'm an eloquent speaker like that.

She proceeded to go over to the T.V. and point to one of the very fit and attractive women who was exercising in the Asylum video.

Now I'm not saying I have a favorite child. Because I don't. But if I did have a favorite, in that moment it quite likely would have been baby girl. For the record, I'm fairly certain I looked nothing like the fit and attractive woman in the video. We all know how I actually look when I workout.

Anyway, I decided to pull out the good old crockpot for last night's dinner. You know how I love to get all the work done on the front end of my day. We had Crockpot Polynesian Chicken. It's one of my favorite meals. Here's what you'll need.

First you're going to drain the juice from the pineapple into a small bowl.

I'm aware this totally looks like a bowl of urine. I knew it as soon as I took it. Which is also why I knew it was definitely going on the blog!

Next you'll add the soy sauce, garlic and honey to the juice and whisk to combine.

Finally, add the cornstarch, and stir until well-combined.

Next, put your chicken in the crockpot. I always buy my chicken when it's on sale and freeze it. I also like to go ahead and cube some of the chicken before I freeze it so it's totally ready for a meal like this one. Brilliant, right?!?

 Pour the pineapple over the chicken.

 Then pour your sauce on top. Or have your cute 10-year-old do it so you can take a picture at the same time.

Now you're ready to go! Cook 4 - 5 hours on low. About an hour before you're ready to eat, slice up a bell pepper into thin strips.

Add the bell pepper to the crockpot and let it cook for the last hour. Serve over rice.

So yummy and low calorie!

Crockpot Polynesian Chicken (adapted from Skinny Ms. recipe)

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded, sliced into thin strips
• 1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks in natural juice
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 Tbsp. + cornstarch

~Pour juice from pineapple into small bowl. Add soy sauce, garlic and honey to juice and whisk to combine. Add cornstarch and stir until well-combined. Place chicken in crockpot. Add pineapple chunks. Pour sauce mixture over chicken and cook on low 4 - 5 hours. Add bell pepper for last hour of cooking. Serve over rice.

Question of the Day

How often do you use your crockpot?

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is in full force around here! I have so many baby clothes that I still haven't gotten out of the house; so far I have packed up at least 10 boxes to donate!

It is bittersweet to say goodbye to those tiny outfits. It's cleansing to know I might be saving myself from being showcased on the next episode of Hoarders, but it's also a little sad to know I won't have another baby. Until my 4 kids start screaming simultaneously. Then the sadness kind of goes away.

Since I'm busy cleaning, I decided I shouldn't overwork myself in the cooking department. Last night we had a bunch of leftovers for dinner. I used some of the leftover BBQ chicken from our Walking Dead party to make myself a delicious salad!

This morning (after my Insanity workout!) I had arranged a playdate for the boy, which meant I got to have a visit with my dear friend, Abby. It's our tradition to eat an unhealthy breakfast together, so I had to pull out the cream cheese casserole recipe again. I only eat it like 3 times a year, I swear!

After Abby left it was time to get back to cleaning. Naturally this meant another simple dinner was in order. I whipped up some leftover spaghetti for the rest of the family, but I was craving a pizza pocket! My sister introduced me to this pita bread a couple of months ago. I found it in the bakery section at Walmart.

With only 60 calories, I love these as a substitute for other breads/crusts. I cut it in half, stuff it with sauce, ONE serving of cheese, and any pizza toppings I have on hand. Today that was bell peppers and banana peppers. Then just heat in the microwave for 45 seconds!

So good! And all for about 200 calories! Which was especially good since I had approximately 12,000 calories for breakfast.

Question of the Day

What's your favorite way to use leftovers?