Since tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, try this out for Taco Tuesday! I think most people probably have a variation of this slow cooker chicken recipe, but you can never have too many options when it comes to chicken.
My family (of 4 boys: ages 13, 7, almost 4, and 37) absolutely love when I make this. Taco night is fail proof in our house, so we make a version of this several times a month.
I’ve read posts that say not to use frozen chicken to ensure that your chicken cooks all the way through….
I’ve pretty much only ever used frozen chicken here and it cooks and shreds just perfectly. You can even just use chicken and salsa and it turns out wonderful. But I’d do it this way…
This is literally the easiest chicken ever, and you can eat it in tacos, on nachos, with rice & beans, or eat the leftovers right out of the fridge while you’re nursing a Cinco de Mayo hangover.
If you’re using frozen chicken breasts, set your slow cooker to high. If you’re using raw, unthawed chicken, you can do low unless you’re needing this to come together faster.
Top the chicken breasts with taco seasoning and cumin. Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning is a favorite of mine and adds a little kick to any Mexican dish. It’s not necessary, but it is yummy.
Next, I poured in a bag of frozen onions & peppers and a bag of frozen corn. I don’t always add these so you can use one or both, or neither one. If you add frozen veggies to this, do not add any additional water at all.
You’ll have so much excess liquid at the end that you have to drain it. Add salsa on top of the frozen veggies. Add cilantro if you like, maybe skip the cilantro if you’re one of those weirdo’s who think it tastes like soap.
Then you just let it go. All day long! If you put it on high, lower after 4 hours. After 6 to 8 hours, the chicken will start falling apart at the touch.
If you have a ton of excess liquid, use a measuring cup to dip out some of the liquid and reserve in a bowl. You won’t need the liquid unless your chicken is too try. You can keep it as a soup though! It literally smells like tortilla soup heaven.
Now, we put this chicken in crunchy tacos on the reg.
But, it was Saturday when I made these, we were having friends over, and I like doing things the hard way sometimes. Insert fried corn tortillas.
If you have read my enchilada recipe, you’ll do the same first step to these tortillas.
Turn up a skillet full of vegetable oil until it’s sizzling, and lightly fry your tortillas so that they are pliable and don’t break when you fill them.
This is absolutely necessary for corn tortillas. You can’t skip it.. I’ve tried.
Sprinkle a little shredded cheese on the crispy tortilla, add your chicken to one side, and fold over. I baked these in the oven on 375 for about 7 minutes.
You can just turn the broiler on and watch them for a couple of minutes, for the same results.
Let’s just say that everyone loved these tacos in the baked crunchy shell. If you’re hosting a little Cinco de Mayo social-distant-get-together, give these a try!! What is your favorite slow cooker chicken meal?
What you’ll need for this meal:
5lb bad of frozen chicken breasts
Frozen pepper & onion mix
Frozen corn
Taco seasoning
Cumin powder
Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning (optional)
Salsa (your favorite)
Corn Tortillas
Shredded Monterrey Jack or Fiesta Cheese mix
Vegetable oil
Cilantro (optional)
Directions:
Add chicken, seasonings, frozen veggies, salsa & cilantro into the slow cooker. Set on high for 4 hours. Reduce to low for an additional 2-4 hours, until it shreds easily with a fork.
Remove excess liquid from the slow cooker so that you’re chicken isn’t overly runny. Save for soup!
Turn your broiler on. Put vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop a tortilla into the hot oil and lightly fry for about 10 seconds so that is is just cooked and no longer soft.
Add a light layer of cheese to the tortilla, chicken to one side, fold over and line your pan with the same process. Broil for a couple minutes, keep an eye on them so they don’t over cook. You can also cook on 375 for 7-10 minutes if you’d rather.
Comments