Salsa Chicken
Beyond pinto beans, this is probably the simplest recipe within my collection. It is fabulous to boot. Everyone loves this and it makes a lot of food with very few ingredients and very little effort.
For the beginning cook or a non-cook, the slow cooker is your best friend within the kitchen. This is one kitchen appliance that everyone should invest in. It is as essential to the average kitchen as a coffee pot (which isn't essential in mine at all, but that's a different topic) or a microwave. If you don't have one, go buy one!
Ingredients needed:
1 slow cooker (I have used 2, 4, and 6 quart crock-pots for this recipe all with success)
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (these can be fresh or thawed without changing the end
product) ready to remove from the packaging
1 jar of salsa (aka picante sauce or hot sauce), heat level is up to you, about 20 ozs - any brand will do
1 can of green chiles, chopped, about 7 oz (optional), again heat level is up to you and any brand will do
The heat from the salsa and chiles mellows considerably so if you like heat, don't hesitate to use the hottest ones available. (I am a notorious wimp when it comes to spicy stuff and will use medium heat for both the salsa and the chiles with no problems at all.)
Let's cook!
1) Place slow cooker on counter, ensuring you have plugged it in (hey, I said I wanted to help people who said they couldn't cook, remember?) and it is turned off.
2) Take your chicken breasts and place them into the interior of your slow cooker, removing the lid if needed.
3) Open your jar of salsa and pour the entire contents on top of the chicken breasts, doing your best to cover them completely. Pour slowly or it will splash on you . . .
Use the entire jar and your end result should look something like this -
4) Step 4 is optional, but my family really likes this little addition so I do it regularly. Once you have your chicken and salsa in the slow cooker, open your can of chopped green chiles with a can-opener. Using care not to splash, dump the entire contents of the can over the ingredients already in the slow cooker.
If you prefer, you can simply skip step 4 altogether, but I find it is worth the extra two or three minutes it takes.
5) Once your ingredients are all assembled inside your slow cooker, place the lid on the slow cooker in the correct positioning. Then turn your slow cooker on to the LOW setting. Walk away and let this cook for a minimum of 6 hours. I have let it cook as long as 10 hours without any ill effects on the meal.
6) Shortly before you are ready to have your meal, get two forks and a medium size bowl. Take the forks and use them to scoop the chicken up out of the slow cooker and into the bowl. Use caution because the chicken will be tender and can easily fall apart, causing splashes from the hot liquid remaining in the crockpot. Then take the forks and shred the chicken. This is simply done by pulling on the chicken with the forks until it comes apart into strands. Work the chicken until all the chicken is shredded. Then add as much liquid from the crockpot as you desire to the chicken to make it juicy and extra flavorful.
7) Serve the chicken with any taco fixins' your family prefers. We use soft flour tortillas, refried and/or black beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, tomatos, avocados, grilled onions and peppers with our salsa chicken.
Be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand when eating these tacos as they tend to be messy and can drip a significant amount of liquid from them while being eaten. Enjoy!
P.S. Make sure you save any leftovers from this meal that you have to use in my next recipe - it piggy backs off of this one for another great meal!
For the beginning cook or a non-cook, the slow cooker is your best friend within the kitchen. This is one kitchen appliance that everyone should invest in. It is as essential to the average kitchen as a coffee pot (which isn't essential in mine at all, but that's a different topic) or a microwave. If you don't have one, go buy one!
Ingredients needed:
1 slow cooker (I have used 2, 4, and 6 quart crock-pots for this recipe all with success)
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (these can be fresh or thawed without changing the end
product) ready to remove from the packaging
1 jar of salsa (aka picante sauce or hot sauce), heat level is up to you, about 20 ozs - any brand will do
1 can of green chiles, chopped, about 7 oz (optional), again heat level is up to you and any brand will do
The heat from the salsa and chiles mellows considerably so if you like heat, don't hesitate to use the hottest ones available. (I am a notorious wimp when it comes to spicy stuff and will use medium heat for both the salsa and the chiles with no problems at all.)
Let's cook!
1) Place slow cooker on counter, ensuring you have plugged it in (hey, I said I wanted to help people who said they couldn't cook, remember?) and it is turned off.
2) Take your chicken breasts and place them into the interior of your slow cooker, removing the lid if needed.
3) Open your jar of salsa and pour the entire contents on top of the chicken breasts, doing your best to cover them completely. Pour slowly or it will splash on you . . .
Use the entire jar and your end result should look something like this -
4) Step 4 is optional, but my family really likes this little addition so I do it regularly. Once you have your chicken and salsa in the slow cooker, open your can of chopped green chiles with a can-opener. Using care not to splash, dump the entire contents of the can over the ingredients already in the slow cooker.
5) Once your ingredients are all assembled inside your slow cooker, place the lid on the slow cooker in the correct positioning. Then turn your slow cooker on to the LOW setting. Walk away and let this cook for a minimum of 6 hours. I have let it cook as long as 10 hours without any ill effects on the meal.
6) Shortly before you are ready to have your meal, get two forks and a medium size bowl. Take the forks and use them to scoop the chicken up out of the slow cooker and into the bowl. Use caution because the chicken will be tender and can easily fall apart, causing splashes from the hot liquid remaining in the crockpot. Then take the forks and shred the chicken. This is simply done by pulling on the chicken with the forks until it comes apart into strands. Work the chicken until all the chicken is shredded. Then add as much liquid from the crockpot as you desire to the chicken to make it juicy and extra flavorful.
7) Serve the chicken with any taco fixins' your family prefers. We use soft flour tortillas, refried and/or black beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, tomatos, avocados, grilled onions and peppers with our salsa chicken.
Be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand when eating these tacos as they tend to be messy and can drip a significant amount of liquid from them while being eaten. Enjoy!
P.S. Make sure you save any leftovers from this meal that you have to use in my next recipe - it piggy backs off of this one for another great meal!
Labels: chicken, food, green chiles, mexican, salsa, slow cooker, tacos
posted by Melissa S. | 9:20 PM
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