Crock Pot Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa

I am literally eating the leftovers from this meal while I type this post, and I am reminded of how delicious this dish turned out! This was a true first time try dish and it turned out great! It will be making it onto the regular dinner rotation for sure. It all started with Harris Teeter having a sale on split chicken breast. I picked up a package and figured I would do something with it over the weekend. Turns out our friend Rob was snowed in with us for a night so I figured it'd be a good chance to fire up the crock pot. I started by gathering all the ingredients.

I cut each breast in half so they would cook a little quicker and serve as better portions for serving. Then, I took a whole slew of spices, mixed them up, added a little olive oil, and rubbed the chicken with said mixture. I put the chicken in the crock pot and topped it with a copped onion, 3 cloves of garlic, and a bay leaf. A little water was added so the chicken wouldn't stick.

Then, I set the crock pot on high for 3 hours. Meanwhile, I made the mango salsa. Mango, lime, onion, honey, vinegar, and salt were mixed together.

The finished salsa product was sweet, tart, and just the right flavor balance to give the chicken a little extra something.

While the chicken was finishing up, I prepped some broccoli for roasting.

Then, almonds were toasted and added to a nice batch of quinoa that had been seasoned with a drizzle of olive oil and a hefty pinch of kosher salt.

Once the chicken was tender and falling off the bone, I took it out of the crock pot and garnished it with a little fresh lime.

Dinner is served!

 Rob enjoyed playing with Lily the cat and is also probably convinced that Jacob and I are weirdos after being snowed in with us for 24 hours.

Crock Pot Jerk Chicken Recipe

3-4 large bone in chicken breasts

 1 small yellow onion

 3 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

1 cup water

Lime slices for garnish

Directions:

- Take the skin off the chicken breasts and cut each breast in half (you'll need a hefty knife for this)

- Mix together the spices and olive oil into a paste

- Massage the spice mixture onto the chicken breasts and place the chicken in a crock pot that has been greased with a little olive oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking

- Slice the onion and chop the garlic cloves, drop on top of the chicken in the crock pot

- Add the water to the crock pot, cover, cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6-8 hours

- Once the chicken is falling off the bone, take out of the crock pot and garnish with lime

Mango Salsa Recipe

1 ripe mango

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 lime

2 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp honey

3/4 tsp salt

Directions:

- Peel the mango and onion and chop into small pieces

- Zest and juice the lime into the mango and onion mixture

- Add the vinegar, honey, and salt to the mango mixture

- Cover and chill for 1-2 hours before serving (not a crucial step, but helps the flavors to develop)