I hope all of you in the States had a great Independence Day weekend! TJ and I took a long weekend trip to Florida, and it was great to do tons of relaxing with friends and family. It was really nice to take a few days off from blogging too – sometimes a little break does a world of good. I’m super behind on responding to blog comments, but I’ll be working to get all caught up over the next day or so – promise!

So, let’s talk about how awesome slow cookers are during the summer. By using one, you can avoid heating up the whole house because you don’t have to turn the oven on. Also, they do all the work for you. What’s not to love?! This chicken is so great, because you can throw it together in the morning, and by the time dinner rolls around, it’s incredibly tender. You can eat this with a fork and knife, or use two forks to shred it. It would be great on a bun as a BBQ sandwich, but we ate it just shredded on a plate. It was delicious, easy, and it didn’t heat up the house to make it. A classic summer meal.

Printable Recipe
Serves 2

ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 shallot
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 clove garlic
7.5 oz Coke Zero
3/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp steak sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

instructions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add in the shallot, ginger, and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes.

Stir in the Coke Zero and bring to a boil.

Stir in the ketchup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, brown sugar, and pepper, and again bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker and pour the sauce over the meat.

Cook on low for 8 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Enjoy! Shred if desired and top with additional sauce.

Adapted from Southern Living

What’s your favorite crock pot meal? How did you spend Independence Day?