When Craig and I got married 8 years ago we were young, in-love and broke. He was still in college and I was a recent graduate and we were definitely lacking in the housewares department. Before we got married we lived separately. We both lived in co-op housing during college and then with groups of friends after that, so we never accumulated any of those basic items that most people have (i.e. plates, utensils, spatulas and the like). As such we were pretty stoked for the wedding gifts portion of the marriage process.
In the end, we received three plates, one pan and zero utensils. It was then that I learned that people really like to purchase gifts that feel more “complete”. They can’t afford to buy an entire set of tableware, so they come up with something that isn’t actually on your registry. I used to be the same way before getting married myself, but now I love going into people’s registries and purchasing a bunch of random items that have yet to be fulfilled. Trust me…you will be a wedding gift-giving hero if you do this. But I digress…
While we didn’t end up receiving any utensils (and had to borrow my in-laws tub of camping dishes for a bit), we did receive quite a few crockpots…5 actually. Apparently when you get married in December, people really want you to make lots of crockpot meals. We ended up returning all but one of them so we could purchase some of the items we still needed and crockpot #5 sat in a closet for a good long while, because I had yet to discover the magic that is the crockpot (note: I couldn’t cook at all when we got married. Like…AT. ALL.).
Fast forward months later when all the thank you cards had been mailed and we were settling quite nicely into life as newlyweds. Out of the blue we received a call from Craig’s aunt letting us know that she received our thank you letter and while we mentioned the crockpot, we left out the $100 gift card she had left inside of it for us and she just wanted to make sure we saw it. Our response? “Oh! Of course! Such a wonderful gift! Thank you! Thank you!” Inside though, we were dying a little, completely sure that some lucky person buying a crockpot at Macy’s had truly scored when they found the gift card.
BUT…lo and behold when I went to the closet and cracked open the box with the crockpot inside I discovered that this lone survivor of a slow cooker, just so happened to be the one Craig’s aunt had gifted us! It was pretty much a Christmas miracle. And then…since the crockpot had finally broken free of its box and its dusty home in our coat closet, I decided to finally use it and fell deeply and madly in love with it. All those wedding gift-givers were right! The crockpot truly is a magical kitchen item.
AND…because we hung onto that magical little kitchen item, I am able to share this wonderful and truly “Lazy girl Whole30” approved crockpot recipe. Seriously delicious and also seriously easy. If you hate to cook, this recipe is about to be your jam. And even if you aren’t doing a Whole30, this recipe is so delicious!
CROCKPOT BBQ BUFFALO PULLED-CHICKEN “SANDWICHES”:
(Serving size: 4 extra hungry adults and two very picky children…so probably 5-6 normal people)
Ingredients:
*8 chicken thighs
*1 bottle of Tessemae’s BBQ Sauce
*1/2 bottle of Tessemae’s Mild Buffalo Sauce
*1 package of broccoli slaw
*Tessemae’s Mayonnaise (to taste)
*Apple cider vinegar (to taste)
Directions for pulled chicken:
*Put frozen chicken thighs in the crockpot (you could use un-frozen, but you would have to adjust the cooking time. Frozen is the lazy girl way, because it means you don’t have to remember to thaw the meat ahead of time).
*Pour the entire bottle of Tessemae’s BBQ Sauce and 1/2 the bottle of mild buffalo sauce over the chicken thighs.
*Cover and cook on low for 4 hours on low. Depending on the frozen-ness (yes, that’s totally a word) of your chicken thighs, they may cook a bit faster or slower, so check on them every so often.
Directions for broccoli slaw:
*Open package of broccoli slaw, pour in a bowl (larger than this one so you can actually have room to stir…)
*Add Tessemae’s mayo to taste + a splash (or two or three) of apple cider vinegar – to taste. It’s more about the texture. You don’t want it to be super soggy.
Serving directions:
*Pull apart chicken with a fork and serve – along with the slaw – over a bun if you aren’t Whole30’ing and if you are, you can put it in a lettuce wrap or place it between sweet potato “buns” (see more “un-sandwich” ideas here).
This has definitely been one of my most favorite Whole30 meals to date. Super yummy (a slight kick – just enough to be interesting – but still kid-friendly).
xo
Lauren
*Note: This post was created in partnership with Tessemae’s. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies and products that we love.
I, too, LOVE my crockpot! I am always hunting for good crockpot recipes, extra points when they are freezer meals to boot!
My sister actually got a wedding gift, and inside was a check made out to someone else from someone who she didn’t know. So we assume that someone returned their wedding gift without realizing the check was inside:)