Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken

by Sarah

crock pot

Today’s recipe saved my you-know-what last week. On Thursday, we chaperoned 16 Brownie Girl Scouts through the rainy woods of an Audubon Sanctuary until dusk. I arrived home at dinnertime with a very damp, very tired bubba who was bordering on hypoglycemia. Luckily, I had the foresight to take some chicken breasts out of the freezer, and because I’m sorta nuts, I had all these ingredients in my pantry/freezer . . . at noon I dumped it all in the Crockpot (the chicken breasts weren’t even fully thawed). When we arrived home at 5:45 p.m., you could smell the warm, home-cooked spicy goodness when we opened the door.

This is from a site called Gina’s WW Recipes, which, for all you Weight Watchers devotees, is a great resource. Gina’s got lots of good recipes, and you can even search her recipes by points value. Even if you’re not a WW devotee, if you’re interested in healthful recipes, she’s got a lot of inspiration for you.

D. ate this over rice, which was great. I spooned it over shredded romaine lettuce, which was also very good. It’s delicious stuffed into a whole-wheat tortilla (I had that for lunch the next day), with or without cheese (I abstained, mostly because I was thinkin’ of making a cheesy dinner that night). Any way you eat it, it’s a great dump-n-go slow-cooker meal to have in your arsenal.

Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken (adapted from Gina’s WW Recipes)

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 (14.4 oz.) can diced tomatoes with poblanos (or chiles or plain & jazz ‘em up yourself) (and yes, I used canned tomatoes for this – shocking, I know, but it’s what I had on hand)

1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, undrained (remember, Eden Organic has no BPA!)

8 oz. frozen corn

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles (I know, I know, the can again. Choose hot, medium or mild – whatever you like)

2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. onion powder

1 t. cumin

½ t. cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients except the chicken breasts and salt & pepper in the slow cooker. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and lay them on top. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Approximately one half-hour before serving, remove the chicken breasts and shred them. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker, stirring to combine. Taste the mixture and add additional salt & pepper to taste.

Serves 8.