My sweet sister in law Lindsay sent me a text the other day asking for a recipe. It came the same day as the request for a cabbage and cilantro dish. Sweet and spicy thighs was the request and it just screamed Asian to me, so that is why I made the slaw.

Writing a recipe is easy enough; unless it is for my brother Joseph. He’s on the Paleo diet. I know a bit about it, but not much. I have my own dietary restrictions and requirements, so I’m not fully up to speed on all the fad diets. So this is what I had to work with:Chicken Thighs

Sweet; honey, but no sugar

Spicy

Slow-Cooker

No dairy

No legumes

No SOY (the one thing that foiled my first recipe draft)

No grains (I made rice to go with the dish because I’m not on Paleo)

Now that I have written this out, it doesn’t look nearly as difficult as I felt it was. Turns out it’s not terribly far off how I should be eating. I should limit my grains. Dairy too. I should watch the sweets. Love chicken thighs. Slow cooker is a close personal friend.

I knew dairy was out, but coconut milk was ok. I started thinking of a curry, but then I wasn’t in the mood for that. I just decided I was going to wing it; I am so glad I did. The initial taste is sweet, as requested, but the finish is spicy. The taste testers loved it. I’ll find out if Lindsay and Joseph do.

Sweet and Spicy Thighs

Author: Michelle De La Cerda

Ingredients

6-8 chicken thighs; boneless & skinless
Salt/pepper/granulated garlic
1 onion; diced
1 green bell pepper; diced
1 red bell pepper; diced

Sauce

1-14 oz can coconut milk; well shaken
½ tbsp garlic chili sauce
2 cloves garlic; minced/grated
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp Sriracha
Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat a slow cooker on low.
Season the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.
Place the chicken in the slow cooker.
Coconut milk solidifies in the can. Shake it vigorously. Or cheat and place the can in a warm pot of water on the stove for several minutes on each side, then shake it. Once the contents have liquefied and they can be heard sloshing around, open the can and add it to a bowl.
Add the garlic chili sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, Sriracha, and honey to the coconut milk.
Whisk it all together and pour it over the chicken.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours, depending on how large the thighs are.
We enjoyed it over rice, particularly once the broth seeped into the rice, DELICIOUS!!!