Lightened Kung Pao Chicken

I got this recipe from my coworker.  She gave it to me photocopied out of a Weight Watchers cookbook, I'm just not sure which.

I really enjoy my Chinese food spicy so I tried to step up the spice by adding more red pepper flakes and the habanero pepper.  The original recipe also called for water chesnuts but I can't stand water chestnuts so I replaced them with the string beans.

The assembly, like with most slow cooker recipes, was super easy - which I love!  There wasn't even much clean up!

The verdict?  The chicken was really dry and overall it just wasn't that great.  I wouldn't make it again, but it was definitely easy.

Kung Pao Chicken

Adapted from a weight watchers cookbook...not sure which one

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons hoison sauce

3 tablespoons chicken broth (or you could use dry sherry)

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons thin strips peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 small habenero chili, minced

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

8 oz string beans

2 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3 cups chopped green bell pepper and onion mixture

Directions:

1. Combine hoisin sauce, sherry, ketchup, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes, and habenero chili in slow cooker.  Stir in chicken and string beans.  Cover and cook until chicken is fork-tender, 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

2. About 20 minutes before cooking time is up, mix water and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth.  Stir cornstarch mixture, bell peppers, and onion into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high until mixture simmers and thickens and bell peppers and onions are crisp-tender, about 15 minutes.