Recipe: Slow cooker sticky chicken wings

I don't know about you, but my afternoons and weekends are packed with activities lately. It leaves little time for making any kind of dinner.

While we've been enjoying more than our share of sandwiches, quesadillas and salads lately, sometimes we all just want to sit down to a filling, hot meal. So I've been relying a slow cooker more than usual.

This recipe I found when we had some chicken wings in the refrigerator. My husband had planned to make them while we watched the Super Bowl (but, again, our busy schedule got in the way of that). These turned out a delicious weekday meal, which I was able to throw in the pot early one afternoon (a perk of working from home, I'll admit!).

I found this on DamnDelicious.net and made some adjustments.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

For the sauce

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, honey, garlic, Sriracha (if using), ginger powder, pepper and onion powder.

Put the wings in the slow cooker, pour the mixture over them and combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 to 4 hours or on high heat for 1 to 2 hours. I cooked them on low for just under 3 hours and the meat fell off the bone.

After the cooking happens, mix together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Stir it into the slow cooker and cover and cook on high for another 10 to 15 minutes so the sauce can thicken.

Then preheat your broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and broil the wings for about 2 to 3 minutes. You want them to caramelize a bit.

The original recipe recommends garnishing with sesame seeds and cilantro. I skipped the cilantro and added a few sesame seeds, but I think you could probably skip that too if you didn't have them on hand.

Serve with the sauce, which is great over rice as well.