Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 20 ounce canned pineapple tidbits in unsweetened juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco^® sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoons green onions
• 3 cups cooked rice

Preparation

1. Sprinkle both sides of chicken thighs with pepper and garlic powder.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to skillet and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until browned.
3. Transfer chicken to a 4-quart crock pot^® coated with cooking spray.
4. Drain pineapple juice in a measuring cup. If less than 1 cup, add water to make 1 cup. Stir the juice into skillet drippings, and scrape to loosen browned chicken bits. Remove from heat, and stir in brown sugar, soy sauce and Tabasco sauce. Add 1 cup of the pineapple chunks. Pour mixture over chicken thighs in crock pot. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 3 hours.
5. Remove chicken from crock pot and turn heat to high setting. Combine cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Stir into sauce in the crock pot. Cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add green onions and stir to coat.
6. Serve each chicken thigh over 1/2 cup rice.

Helpful hints

• Sauce may not thicken in the Crock-pot if the temperature is not high enough. If not thickened after 2-3 minutes pour sauce into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat, stirring until thickened. Add back to crock-pot with chicken and pineapple.
• Chicken thighs vary in size and weight. We made this recipe using a 1-1/2 pound package of six boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 4 ounces each uncooked. For a lower protein diet cut the chicken thighs in half ( 2 ounces) or use smaller thighs if available.
• There will be approximately 1 cup of pineapple tidbits left. Eat as a snack or dessert the next day or try another pineapple recipe.