My friend Amanda leads a somewhat similar lifestyle as me; she's a mother of two young children, which means that she is busy all the time! Recently she shared on her blog a recipe for the easiest meal ever. Of course, when you tempt me with a statement like this I'm going to have to try it, and I have to say that Amanda is right. For the amount of time and preparation that is actually put into this meal, it is utterly delicious. Plus, it's dairy-free, which is among our essential criteria these days!
So here's how it goes: grab your medium-sized crockpot and throw in four frozen chicken breasts (adjust the number of chicken breasts for how many are in your family or if you want leftovers). I use the Tyson "Trimmed and Ready" kind so I don't have to hassle with any kind of fat that needs to be trimmed. You do NOT have to thaw the chicken; just throw it into the crockpot frozen! On top of it dump a packet of taco seasoning and a small jar of any kind of salsa. Amanda recommended black bean and corn salsa, but last time I made this recipe I didn't have any of that kind on hand. Instead I used a Muir Glen mild salsa (Muir Glen salsa is expensive but the tomato taste is superb!). I liked the taste of the corn the first time I made this recipe though, so the second time I added a cup of frozen corn into the mixture. Turn the crockpot on high, stir occasionally, and the whole thing will be done in about six hours. In my experience, between the five and six hour mark the chicken will begin shredding, and I facilitate this process by using tongs to break apart the meat occasionally.
The shredded meat is really quite good. We serve it street-taco style on a couple of corn tortillas with some cabbage and chunked avocado. For extra ease, I actually just purchase a bag of the coleslaw starter, which consists of shredded cabbage and carrots. BJ also adds cheese to his tacos, but I can attest to the opinion that you certainly don't need to in order to make this meal good. Today is day five of potty training in our house, and this business sure is tiring! Perfect kind of day for a meal that requires so little effort. Thanks Amanda!
(Note: I took delicious-looking pictures, but can't seem to find them anywhere on my overloaded camera card. Imaginations are required.)
Sounds like a winner. That is actually a recipe that Trisha and Pat have used and, I think, served over rice. Works for us Weight Watcher's, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked it! I absolutely love cooking this and actually crave it some days. :)
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