It's embarrassing what goes into this crockpot (KETCHUP, YOU GUYS — THE SHAME IS REAL), but it totally works.

This recipe has the vibe of, say, a busy American mom making "Chinese" food for her picky children on a Monday night even though she is wishing on the inside that she was eating a mountain of xiao long bao alone in peace.

But you know what? We're all just doing our best. I'm the worst sort of Indian food snob and one time I made curry using a jar of leftover marinara sauce.

I repeat: We're all just doing our best. And I'm not even a busy mom (yet!).

Maybe moreso than a mom with picky kids, this chicken recipe is actually reflective of my husband's style of cooking. A while ago I shared a recipe for Slow-Cooker Ghormeh Sabzi, in which I also discussed my husband's affinity for crockpots and what he calls "dump" dinners. And while I am responsible for this dish, it's very him: it tastes good, it doesn't have too many ingredients and it can be made without dirtying all the dishes (I'm notorious for dirtying 82% of the dishes we own in one swoop and then leaving it all for him to clean up). 

Now that I've braced you for this a weird but wonderful meal, let's eat...

... in, like, five hours. Because it's a slow cooker.

Slow-Cooker Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs with Green Things

gluten-free | serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs boneless-skinless chicken thighs
• salt and pepper
• equal parts ketchup and gluten-free soy sauce (yes, I said ketchup and soy sauce)
• honey (a little less than what you did for the ketchup and soy sauce)
• sriracha, to taste
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• some ground ginger (or fresh minced)
• some lime juice
• frozen chopped broccoli (or other veggies)
• frozen chopped kale (or other greens)
• optional garnishes: crushed red pepper, cashews, extra squeeze of lime juice, etc.

Instructions

1. Put everything but the chicken and frozen vegetables into the slow cooker and stir to mix. I eyeball everything when I make this recipe, so don't overthink it. When it looks like sauce and tastes like sauce, it's done. 
2. Add the chicken to the crockpot and thoroughly coat with the sauce. 
3. Turn the slow cooker on low for 5-6 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked. 
4. When you're about 30 minutes from dinner time, stir the frozen chopped broccoli and kale into the slow cooker. You can also do this on the warm setting and let it hang for a little longer until the broccoli is tender.
5. Serve with white rice or cauliflower rice and top with crushed red pepper and/or cashews.

Notes

• I like make versions of this sort of thing (chicken + vegetables in a slow cooker) on Sundays to pack for weekday lunches at work. I should write a post on that someday soon. I've been trying to make weekly meal prep a habit and am finally starting to get the hang of it.
• I like using chopped broccoli and kale in this but you can use any veggies you like. Larger pieces might require more time to cook, so you could always defrost them or microwave them before stirring everything together.
• Here are some other things to do with chicken thighs.
• Because of the ketchup, there's certainly sugar in this recipe even if you buy a fancy one. You could try substituting tomato paste if you'd like (just go a little lighter on the amounts).