Hawaiian BBQ Chicken with Crispy Barbecue Spiced Brussels Sprouts

It's summer time, which means all the crockpot meal preps and all the planning ahead. I was looking into freezer crockpot meals and found this blog post with 31 crockpot recipes you can freeze ahead of time. I've never tried freezing crockpot meals, but it's that time of summer when life gets really busy, and with prepping for mom as well, I figured this would really help me out. My go-to options for paleo BBQ sauce are Tessemae's BBQ sauce or Steve's PaleoChef Peach BBQ, both sold at the Whole Foods near me, which is super convenient! For this recipe I used Tessemae's BBQ sauce and I prepped and froze the ingredients beforehand as the recipe calls for. The pineapple BBQ mix was a sweet barbecue taste and the chicken turned out delicious. The barbecue spiced brussels sprouts on the other hand were more of a spicy barbecue taste, but still very yummy as well. I definitely recommend using no more than 2 Tbsp of that homemade BBQ rub with the 2lbs of brussels. The recipe makes close to 4 Tbsp and that is way too much to use all at once. Anyways, if you really like barbecue then this is a meal for you! 

​Slow Cooker Paleo Hawaiian BBQ Chicken 
Ingredients:

• 2 lb. Chicken Breasts
• 3 Tbsp coconut aminos
• 20 oz fresh pineapple with any juice
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• ½ cup onion sliced thin
• 1 tsp dried ginger
• 2 fresh garlic cloves, crushed and minced
• 1 cup paleo BBQ sauce (I used ​Tessemae's BBQ sauce)
• 1 Tbsp raw honey
• ¼ cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, optional

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except BBQ sauce and freeze.
2. When ready to cook thaw the ingredients in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Place into a slow cooker and add BBQ sauce and cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Remove and shred chicken with two forks and serve.
5. Salt and pepper if desired.

​Original recipe found here

Crispy Barbecue Spiced Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:

• 2 lb of brussels sprouts, halved
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

BBQ seasoning Rub:

• 1 Tbsp paprika
• ½ Tbsp kosher salt
• ¼ Tbsp mustard powder
• ½ Tbsp chili powder
• ½ Tbsp ground cumin
• ¼ Tbsp black pepper
• ½ Tbsp garlic powder
• ¼ Tbsp cayenne
• ¼ Tbsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place brussels sprouts in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Combine all ingredients for spice mix in a large bowl. Mix in into brussels sprouts and use a large spoon to toss spice mix evenly among sprouts. 
4. Spread brussels sprouts in one layer on a greased baking sheet.
5. Bake for 25 minutes. Increase oven to 450 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes, or until crispy.
6. Enjoy!

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