Ol' Days Sweet & Sour Chicken

This pile of messy saucy chicken on rice is my favouritest meal from my childhood (and maybe to this day!).  This is the meal my sister and I chose over every meal in the world for our birthday dinners.  And we've made it for our children, but those silly kids don't beg us to make it more often.  If they did, I might remember to make it more often.  'Cause it's ridiculously simple to make.  And that's not to say that I've not messed it up 'cause I have.  I've been known to stew for hours wondering what I did wrong.  However easy it is, it is also very important, you don't leave anything out.  Trust me. And while it is my favouritest meal, I can't seem to keep the recipe (handed down from my mum) at hand.  I've lost it at least a dozen times to the point that I am fairly certain my mum keeps it by her phone.  I may even be guilty for timing how long it takes for her to start reciting the recipe from when she picks up the phone.  So last weekend when she last gave me the recipe at 8:30 on a Sunday morning, I vowed to never bother her again in the hopes to impress her.   After polishing off another sweet & sour chicken dinner, I sat down to type out the recipe on the blog.  Wouldn't you know that my dear family had ACTUALLY cleaned up the kitchen after me?  This never happens.  In their tidying up, my scrap of paper with all the careful measurements and ingredients was discarded.  I stared out the window at the garbage bags on the curb, and rather than cry, I did my darndest to recall exactly what and how much I threw in the crockpot.  I will not call my mum and declare defeat for the 13th time.  That is what she expects me to do.  Here is what I remember.

Ingredients
2 lbs chicken (I used some cheap skin-on, bone-in thighs)
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 vinegar
20 oz can of pineapple (I used tidbits this time, but I've also used crushed)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced

Directions
Brown the chicken in the oil.  Drain chicken and place in slow cooker.
Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the chicken.
Slow cook (I'm humming Slow Ride now) for 6 to 8 hours on low (this is what my mum said, but I did it on high - maybe because my slow cooker is crap).
Remove the chicken to a dish and keep warm. Turn the slow cooker to high. (Mine was already there!) Make some rice while you're at it.
Mix 3 tbsp of cornstarch with 3 tbsp of cold water.
Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce left in the slow cooker while stirring with a whisk until it thickens.  I find the more cornstarch mixture I use, the more blander the sauce becomes so take it easy.
Serve the chicken over rice, and top with your sweet and sour sauce.  Enjoy!

N