Crock Pot Tex Mex Chicken

After my success with the Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki the other day I really was craving another warm, comforting meal from the slow cooker. While this recipe is not even close to the other, my love for Mexican flavors made this a winner.

There are lots of ways to enjoy this slow cooked Tex Mex shredded chicken. I ate mine wrapped in corn tortillas topped with shredded lettuce and sharp cheddar cheese, but it would be equally satisfying on a warm, crisp tostada, or even  as a topper for a nice bed of lettuce greens. You choose.

I also used some leftovers for this meal. It’s a perfect example of utlizing what you have on hand to make something delicious. Other toppers could include sour cream, green onions, black olives, and cilantro (which I always love).

Tex Mex Chicken

3-4 large chicken breasts

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 cup tomato sauce/pasta sauce

1/4 cup water

1 (4-oz) can chopped green chiles

1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 (15-oz) can black beans

1 cup frozen corn

Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Place chicken in slow cooker.

Combine onion, chiles, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and water. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Replace shredded chicken into slow cooker and add in drained black beans and frozen corn. Stir well. Add some water if needed.

Cook an additional 30 minutes.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

Can you believe I’ve never done a slow cooker BBQ chicken sandwich recipe before? We love BBQ, but since we stopped eating pork about 9 years ago, we’ve pretty much gone without. Now, these are sweeter than the Southern pork sandwiches with vinegar base that we used to love, and eventually I will try to find a recipe just like that for chicken {I know there are plenty out there} but in the meantime this is really good!

Ok, so technically this isn’t pulled chicken. If you’re not sure what the difference is, it’ s my understanding that it’s meat from the butt of the chicken  (not any of the yucky parts- eew). I used pulled in the title because most people relate that word to the style of sandwich, be it pork or chicken; i.e. shredded BBQ.

Of course, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which were shredded once cooked using two forks.

BBQ Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breasts

1 (12 oz) bottle of BBQ sauce

1/2 cup of Italian dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire

In crock pot, place chicken breasts. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and then pour over the chicken. Cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 6 to 8 hours on low. Shred chicken once cooked through and return to crock pot. Serve on lightly toasted whole wheat sandwich rolls.

It doesn’t get any easier than that! Enjoy

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

This was super easy and yummy to make. We used the shredded buffalo chicken as the filler in my homemade flour tortillas, along with lettuce and ranch dressing. I love a good buffalo wing, and this recipe gives me all the heat and flavor of that without getting my hands all messy!

If you already have cooked chicken, dice it up or shred it and add buffalo sauce and ranch dressing to it for a quick meal. If you are starting from scratch, the recipe is as follows:

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs (I used a whole small chicken)

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce (from 12-oz jar)

3/4 cup ranch dressing (I make my own using buttermilk, mayo, and Hidden Valley mix = no Titanium Dioxide)

8 homemade flour tortillas (read here why I won’t buy tortillas anymore)

3 cups shredded lettuce

1. In 1 1/2 qt. slow cooker, place chicken; sprinkle with salt.

2. Cover (with 4 cups water and lid); cook 6 to 7 hours on low.

3. With slotted spoon, remove chicken from slow cooker and place on cutting board; discard liquid. In clean slow cooker mix together buffalo sauce and 1/4 cup of the ranch. (If you’ve used a whole chicken then separate the meat and shred, using two forks. Discard the bones, skin, broth, etc. or place into a stock pot to cook down and make a stock.)

4. To serve, spread each tortilla with 1 tbsp remaining ranch dressing; top each with about 1/2 cup chicken mixture and about 1/3 lettuce. Roll up tortilla and eat

*Stay tuned for an awesome buffalo chicken dip recipe for leftovers! (Coming soon ;p)