Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken

I saw this recipe over at A Year of Slow Cooking.  I love, love, LOVE making meals in my Crockpot!  I feel so accomplished when I have my dinner taken care of at 10:00 in the morning.  When I saw this recipe and the rave reviews it received, I knew I wanted to try it.  This is one of those recipes you will just need to trust me on.  The taste is somewhat Teriyaki-ish and let me just say,  the sauce is killer!  ***update...I found that I like it better when you make the stir fry veggies seperately instead of adding them to the crockpot.  Also, if you have have a family divided (half like it spicy and the other half does not), take out some of the broth and mix in some Sriracha sauce and serve that to those who like it spicy!
Ingredients:

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or 6 boneless, skinless breast halves (I used the thighs because I think it stays WAY juicier in the Crockpot)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (please, don't use diet.   When the chemicals in diet soda are exposed to heat, they do some pretty scary stuff)
• 2/3 cup vinegar (I used regular white, but the original recipe used White Wine)
• 3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic (I used those handy dandy frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe's)
• 2 TBSP soy sauce (I found I needed a splash or two more at the end.  Taste it and see if you need more when it is done cooking)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Use a 4 quart Crockpot for this recipe. 
Plop the chicken into your crockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble!
Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Serve over a bowl of white rice with a ladle full of the broth.  As I said, the broth is A-MAZING! 

A couple of notes:
~Don't put this together the night before.  The vinegar will marinate your chicken, bleck!
~Change it up by adding some veggies....stir-fry, carrots, broccoli, strips of peppers and onions, etc.
~If you want the sweet/spicy thing, add some red pepper flake or Sriracha.

This recipe is linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck
Eat at Home
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home