As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.



Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Slow Cooker Tuesday ~ Week 2 {Mexican Chicken}



This week I was going to share with you the very simplest meal that I make in my slow cooker. It is embarrassingly easy, and you can use it to make all sorts of Mexican-inspired creations. This is our Salsa Chicken...


Place boneless chicken breasts in slow cooker. Top chicken breasts with a jar of salsa. Cook until chicken is tender enough to shred.  



But on the morning that I was going to make my simple Salsa Chicken, I saw this scrumptious looking recipe on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog.  Right then and there, I decided to kick my recipe up a notch or two and make Betty's Mexican Chicken!

Photo from Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog


And that's what I did! Why walk when you can run? 






Ingredients:
 8 chicken breasts
19-oz. can black beans, drained* 19-oz. can white kidney beans, drained*
2 3/4 cups salsa
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon taco powder
 
Directions:
  1. Place chicken breasts in bottom slow cooker.
  2. Pour beans over the chicken. 
  3. Mix together salsa, chili powder, and taco powder and pour over the beans.
  4. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is done. 
  5. Remove the chicken and shred with a fork. 
  6. Place shredded chicken back in the slow cooker and mix in with the beans.
  7. Cook 1 more hour on low.
  8. Serve with pickles** and your favorite tortilla chips, shells, or tostadoes.

* My cans of beans were both 15.5-oz.
** We omitted the pickles.


On Friday night, I served the Mexican Chicken with warmed soft tortilla shells and various toppings such as shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, shredded cheese, and sour cream. You could also add black olives or green onion...basically anything you'd eat on a taco or burrito.


Before rolling up...


For lunch on Monday, we reheated the Mexican Chicken and put it over some crispy corn tortilla chips, again adding toppings.

I can also imagine serving this over rice.  (Like Chipotle's cilantro-lime rice? Yes, please.)

I'll bet you could make a killer salad by dolloping some of this over a big bed of lettuce.

(Okay, I'll stop.)


Have you ever made a Mexican-inspired dish in your slow cooker?


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8 comments:

  1. VeeJanuary 14, 2014 at 8:33 AM

    No, I have not, but I am going to change that one day soon. Did you find that Betty's recipe is worth the extra efforts? Pinning this to my chicken recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cheryl January 14, 2014 at 8:59 AM

    Vee, I definitely thought that it was worth the extra effort! It was still quite simple...but the beans and the seasonings were flavorful additions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJanuary 14, 2014 at 9:12 AM

    I love my slow cooker! I used to make Chicken Chili Verde quite a lot. It is simple but not quite as simple as this. I don't make it as much anymore because Hubby finally fessed up and said "I like it, but not so often." Amelia still makes a version of it in her dorm-sized crock-pot, though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DebbieJanuary 14, 2014 at 11:19 AM

    So glad you put this up as I am always looking for slow cooker recipes and anything Mexican. This sounds wonderful! Hope you have a good day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tim, Allyson, and kidsJanuary 14, 2014 at 11:51 AM

    I have a couple Mexican inspired Crock-Pot dishes. One of our favorites right now is Chicken Taco Soup. I also make a big batch of "refried" beans in the Crock-Pot about every month. I keep the leftovers in the fridge to add to tacos, burritos, taco salad, etc.

    Also, did you know you can place cooked chicken breasts in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer and mix with the paddle attachment to shred. Definitely not necessary, but it does make it quicker for me since I just put the mixer bowl and paddle in the dishwasher.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Barbara F.January 14, 2014 at 1:22 PM

    I need to pull out my slow cooker and get started! Sounds wonderful, and spicy enough to warm one up on a cold winter's night! xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cheryl @ TFDJanuary 14, 2014 at 8:08 PM

    This sounds really good, Cheryl. I'll have to try it soon. Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  8. podsoJanuary 14, 2014 at 9:50 PM

    No I haven't but I will now. Both recipes sound good. Just wondering if you guys don't like pickles ? :-)

    ReplyDelete

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