Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken

Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken
Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts (or thighs would work great too!)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (I used Sprite)
2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons water
Rice or noodles, cooked (REALLY good over Rice)
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken (I used frozen chicken, thawed chicken works great too) inside slow cooker. Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper together. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. Take chicken pieces out of slow cooker and shred (mine basically fell apart). Pour remaining sauce into saucepan. Place saucepan over high heat. Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, (I had to continually stir it because it felt like the bottom was burning)  or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools down).
Mix Chicken into glaze. Serve over rice or noodles. Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if desired.

*Original Recipe found here

Costa Vida Sweet Pork Burritos

Original Recipe found here

Costa Vida Sweet Pork Burritos

Sweet pork (recipe below)

Cilantro-lime rice (recipe below)

Garlic black beans (recipe below)

large flour tortillas

monterey jack cheese, shredded (we just used cheddar and Mozzarella / whatever cheese we had laying around)

Sweet Pork:

3 lbs boneless pork ribs (We used pork chops and it turned out just fine)

3 cans coke, divided

1 1/4 cups brown sugar, divided

dash garlic salt

1/4 cup water

1 can diced green chiles

3/4 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce

In a large ziploc bag, combine pork, a can and a half of coke, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and place pork in crock pot. Add 1/2 can of coke, garlic salt, and 1/4 cup of water. Cook on high for about 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Remove meat from crock pot and shred. Drain liquid. 

In a food processor or blender, blend together 1/2 can of coke, green chiles, enchilada sauce, and remaining 1 cup brown sugar. Put pork back in crock pot. Cover with sauce. Cook on low heat for 2 hours.

Cilantro-Lime Rice: *see below for how I cooked it for the super easy way*

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice

1 tsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp lime juice 

1 can (15 oz) chicken broth 

1 cup water

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 tsp sugar

3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

*** Cook rice as normal adding lime juice (I used DoTerra Lime oil (3-4 drops)) in water as rice cooks. When rice is done add cilantro and mix it in using a fork***

Combine rice, butter, garlic, lime juice, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. Combine remaining 1 Tbsp lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over rice and mix as you fluff rice.

Garlic Black Beans: *See below for easy way I cooked it*

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup tomato juice

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

***Take can of Black Beans NOT drained and put in saucepan, Add Garlic, We added some praprika and red pepper flakes (not to much, add little at a time until you get desired spice)

In a small saucepan, combine olive oil, garlic, and cumin. Cook over medium heat until fragrant. Add black beans, tomato juice, and salt. Stir until heated through. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

Take Tortilla and layer pork (try to not put to much of pork sauce inside burrito), beans and rice. Wrap. Smoother with Sweet Pork Sauce and Cheese and put in Microwave until cheese is melted (about 45 sec.)