Give Dad a Break: Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken

With Father's Day coming around the corner (Sunday!) I thought about doing a burger or grilling post, but it's usually the guy who stand at a hot grill cooking for everyone else. I remembered these BBQ chicken sandwiches we had recently, and thought it would be the perfect thing for Father's Day. Dad won't have to stand at the grill, but still gets to munch on a big wad of meat. And Mom isn't stressed out because she threw all the stuff in the slow cooker that morning. Everybody wins.

This is probably the best shredded BBQ chicken I've ever had. The recipe suggests using a fruity (guava, mango, or pineapple) flavored BBQ sauce, but I don't like extra-sweet BBQ sauce, so I just used the regular kind from Trader Joe's. We paired it with a simple green salad dressed with Pioneer Woman's Homemade Ranch Dressing . I also added some coleslaw to the sandwiches, but that needed some tweaking. I'm still converting to coleslaw so I'm picky.

If you're (Dad's) not into salads, here are a few of my favorite side dishes (that would also go well with these):

Marinated Zucchini
Green Bean Succotash
Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes
Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes
Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Ranch Mac 'n' Cheese
Smoked Gouda Chipotle Grits

Have a great weekend!



Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken
from Aggie's Kitchen

2 pounds chicken breasts (I used boneless/skinless)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 whole medium onion, sliced thinly
¼ cups raisins
1 bottle fruity barbecue sauce (18-20 oz bottle, guava, mango, or pineapple)
2 T balsamic vinegar (a couple of splashes)
6 whole Favorite Sandwich Buns

Place chicken breasts into slow cooker and sprinkle salt and pepper to both sides. Add sliced onion and raisins. Pour 3/4 of the bottle of barbecue sauce and balsamic vinegar over chicken and combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When cooking is complete, take 2 forks and gently pull apart chicken breasts. Take remainder of barbecue sauce and pour over chicken and combine. (Optional: I added the rest of the sauce and it was way too saucy. Add at your own discretion.) Let the shredded chicken sit in crock-pot uncovered for about 15 minutes to warm up the additional sauce.

Add shredded chicken to your favorite sandwich bun and top with coleslaw, if desired.

Serves 6-8

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