Whole chickens cost way less than smaller packs because having to break them down yourself is a pain. Instead – use a whole chicken with minimal work and still maximize the savings of buying whole by throwing it in a crock pot! And using Hawaiian Sun jelly gives it those nice flavors of the islands.

Cooking a whole chicken in a crock pot gives you nice succulent chicken that is easily ‘pulled’ and makes a delicious meal with very little work. Now don’t you feel better now that you’ve saved all that time and money? Ahh…

ingredients:
1 whole chicken
one 10 ounce jar guava jelly
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Hawaiian Sun jams and jellies are from Hawaii but can be found in most Asian markets and online.

In a small bowl mix together the guava jelly, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic.

Wash and dry the chicken and place it in the crock pot. Season with salt and pepper then pour the jelly mixture on top.

Cook in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. Yes, this is what it looks like. Sort of like it’s taking a bath. Odd.

Using two forks, ‘pull’ the chicken into shreds and serve.

Sometimes the best recipes come together by looking into your pantry and saying…now what. Things that I always have on hand: green apples (the Baby’s fave) and King’s Hawaiian sweet bread rolls.

Chicken and apples go amazingly well together so I made some patties using ground chicken and served them on King’s Hawaiian sweet bread. The sweet bread made these perfect for breakfast as well as lunch – where I packed up the leftovers for the kids to take to school.

ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken
1 green apple, diced small and fine
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix the diced apples with the ground chicken. Add the maple syrup, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Form round flat patties. (I made these into small sized sliders.)

In a pan over medium high heat cook the patties until no longer pink and cooked through. Place on sliced sweet bread rolls and serve.

Whether it’s for getting more veggies in your diet or the color – spinach pasta can’t be beat. The Baby proclaimed it “Slytherin” pasta and proceeded to eat the whole bowl. Hey, whatever works…

ingredients:
16 oz spinach penne
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup pasta water
1-1/2 cups rotisserie chicken, cooked

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Boil the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid before you drain it.

Toss the pasta in with the lemon mixture, then add the zest. Add the reserved pasta water a little at a time, you may not need all of it, you just don’t want the pasta to be dry.

Toss in the cooked chicken and serve!

Shoyu chicken is a plate lunch fave in Hawaii and sometimes you can even get it fried to a crisp. OMG so yum.

However, while I love fried foods, I’m not keen on frying at home so I came up with this baked version which I promise you is just as crispy and still has that comforting shoyu chicken taste.

ingredients:
8-10 chicken thighs
1-1/2 cups flour
salt
pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons mirin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a baking sheet by lining it with foil, then placing a wire rack on top.

Prep your ‘dipping station’ – in one shallow dish season the flour with salt and pepper and whisk together. In a second shallow dish whisk the egg with the soy sauce and mirin.

Wash and dry the chicken. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, then rolling it in the flour, shaking off the excess.

Place the chicken on the wire rack prepped baking sheet. Bake for one hour.

My kids LOVE this. It’s so good you may never eat shoyu chicken the old fashioned way again!

If you grew up in Hawaii or even if you’ve just visited, then you know what Pog is. Passion – Orange – Guava. Get it? POG.

POG is a combo drink full of delicious-ness and darn hard to find if you are on the mainland. But I happened upon some in a store and I had to buy it. Not only did we drink it but I thought it would make a perfect marinade for chicken.

The fragrant smells that come out of your kitchen when this is cooking will take you back to the islands. Aloha…

ingredients:
6-8 chicken thighs
1 cup POG
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper

Prep chicken by washing and drying well. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the Pog, brown sugar and garlic. Pour into a freezer bag along with the prepped chicken. Set the bag in a pan so it doesn’t spill and marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours.

When you are ready to cook preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with foil and place a wire rack on top.

Place the chicken on the wire rack (discard the marinade!!) and salt and pepper the chicken. Cook for one hour.

The flavor is subtle but deep and you get a nice crisp skin on the chicken when it bakes in the oven. The kids love this chicken, it’s perfect with a side of rice and leftovers make a great lunch!

My goal with my recipes is to make things that are tasty and don’t take a lot of time. With all the kid’s classes, homework and activities – this is the kind of dinner we eat during the week – fast, simple and delicious.

ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup orange juice
juice of half a lime
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
pinch of cayenne
freshly ground pepper

6-8 pieces boneless chicken (thighs or breasts)
mini rolls (for sliders) or buns (for regular size)

Place the chicken in the crock pot.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

When chicken is cooked through, use two forks and ‘pull’ it.

I like this BIG on a bun with lettuce and tomato while the kids like it small like sliders.

Either way it’s tasty and an easy dinner in no time flat!

This is an old French recipe called Macaroni ala Reine – “Macaroni for the Queen.” Since I’m the Queen around here, I proclaim this to be the tastiest dish ever.

A white mac ‘n’ cheese, studded with bits of rotisserie chicken and lovely peas that pop in your mouth. The perfect dinner. So says me, the Queen.

ingredients:
1 package (approx 14 oz) macaroni
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
nutmeg
3/4 cup Swiss Cheese, shredded
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
2 cups roast chicken, cooked
1 cup peas
salt
pepper

You know those rotisserie chickens that you can buy at Costco or your local market? They are easy to cut up and keep in the freezer, perfect for meals like this.

Boil the pasta according to the package. Drain – do not rinse! Set aside.

In a large pot melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook down for about 2-3 minutes, then add the milk and the heavy cream.

Whisk continuously. Add the Swiss and the Parm cheeses and whisk until melted. The Swiss makes this a little stringy – I love the chees-i-ness of it. Simmer 5-8 minutes and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Stir in the pasta, roast chicken and peas. Toss until combined and season with salt and pepper.

This is a hearty meal all by itself!

This is so simple to do, great for when you just don’t have time and want to come home and just serve dinner. No fuss.

My kids LOVE this. Warm and flavorful it’s a perfect weekday dinner.

ingredients:
8 pieces of chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 can chicken broth
1 can water

Place the chicken in the crock pot. Add the garlic, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Slowly add the chicken broth and water along the side of the pot, so as not to disturb the spices.

Turn the crock pot on to low for 6-8 hours. Serve!

This is the simplest of recipes – using only 3 ingredients, it’s a great quick dinner in a pinch. You’ll be surprised at how delicious just salt and pepper can be.

ingredients:
6-8 chicken drumsticks
salt
pepper
melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Lightly grease the wire rack with a little bit of oil.

Wash and pat dry the chicken, then place the drumsticks on top of the wire rack.

Brush the melted butter on top of the drumsticks, then season liberally with salt and pepper.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes to one hour, depending on your oven, until done.

You know how I LOVE my musubi maker. Well in Hawaii musubi is everywhere, and not just spam musubi, there are all kinds. A nice one that is like a full lunch rolled into one little package is a teri-chicken musubi. I came up with an easy version one day when I needed a quick meal fast. Sure you can take the time to boil the chicken and all that, but I’m a woman on the go (?!) and I needed something even faster.

I took some leftover rotisserie chicken (you can find them in any market nowadays) and topped that with my homemade teriyaki sauce. Quick and easy, the perfect snack, lunch, dinner on the go!

ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice
2 cups rotisserie chicken
5 big sheets of nori (seaweed)
acrylic musubi maker

teri sauce ingredients:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup mirin
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water

Make the teriyaki sauce. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water to form a runny white paste. Set aside. In a small saucepan stir the soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Bring to a boil and then pour in the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil again until the sauce thickens. This will take about only a minute.

While the sauce cools set up your ‘musubi station’. If you don’t have a musubi maker, well – GET ONE. Now you can buy them online!

Lay down one large sheet of nori. Put the musubi maker on top and add a layer of rice. On top of that lay down the chicken, then spoon the teriyaki sauce over that.

Add another layer of cooked rice on top of the chicken, then using the musubi press, press down to form a nice compact rectangle.

Pull the musubi out of the press, and fold the nori over once onto the rice, then wet the top part of the nori and fold over again to seal. You will get a nice long ‘log’.

Cut the log in half and then again for smaller pieces.

This can be a main dish or a side and you can even serve it with some leftover teriyaki as a dipping sauce for those who just can’t get enough teri-flava.