Recipe: Lieutenant Colonel Darcy's Chicken

It was an intense debate.

Me: I think I will call it General Darcy's chicken.
Wade: Uhhhh. (long pause) Don't you think that's a little ambitious?
Me: What?
Wade: Maybe Colonel Darcy.
Me: Like SANDERS? NO.
Wade: Major? Captain?
Me: Oh, come on. I think I rank higher than that. General!
Wade: Nah.
Me: Lieutenant Colonel.
Wade: Really? Oh, fine.

So, there you have it. Lieutenant Colonel Darcy's chicken a.k.a. General Tsao's chicken. This was a Pinterest find, which links to Joy and Passion in the Journey

Lieutenant Colonel Darcy's Chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 t minced garlic
3 T brown sugar
1 t ground ginger
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you like hot)
1 16-oz package stir fry veggies

Place chicken in bag. Combine remaining ingredients (except veggies), mix well and pour over chicken. Freeze. Recommendation: Put quart bag of chicken, with the bag of veggies, into a gallon bag.

Thaw chicken bag. Cook on low 5-6 hrs. Then add frozen veggies. Recover and cook on high for 1 hr or until veggies are hot and chicken has reached desired tenderness. Serve over rice.

Commentary on the Process

It went together fairly easily. As mentioned in one of the first entries, there was a lot of garlic peeling. That got a little old. However, other than that, pretty simple, pretty fast.

I apparently bought stir fry veggies with noodles and didn't realize it until I poured the bag in the Crockpot and thought, "What are all those white squiggly things?" Then I looked at the bag. Wait. Then I READ the bag. Lo Mein Stir Fry Vegetables. Ohhhh. Whoops. I just picked the bag that looked like it had mostly carrots and broccoli and very few (if any) peas.

Thank you auto-rotate!

Also, I did not follow the cooking instructions very well. Or at all.

Cook on low 5-6 hours.

I cooked on low for 9 hours.

Add frozen veggies and cook on high for 1 hour.

I added veggies and cooked on low for 1 hour. Apparently, I can't read. Or I choose not to read. Whatever. I think it turned out fine. Of course, I used my happy rice maker for the rice. Lieutenant Colonel Darcy's chicken was served.

I left out the photo of the chicken before I added the veggies. Like I said before, Crockpot food ain't pretty.

Ratings

Ease of preparation: B+
Taste: B
Quantity: 2 servings, plus ~2 servings for leftovers
Notes: I actually liked it with the lo mein noodles, but Wade and I felt like it needed more sauce. We added a little soy sauce, and it was fine. We think it's a repeat.

Final Words

Me: I'm a little upset you demoted me.
Wade: I didn't. You never rated General.