Chicken breasts were on special this week, so I loaded my cart and have prepared a month full of fantastic recipes to share with you! Easy is the name of the game as we get a chance to spend a little bit more time outside this month when the time changes and we’re ready to break our cabin fever.
These recipes are easy to double if your slow cooker is larger. If I splurge on a fresh bunch of cilantro, I definitely want to use it in more than one recipe during the week.
Easy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 c. chicken broth
2 (15-oz.) cans Great Northern Beans, drained
2 c. salsa or diced tomatoes with green chilies
Toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, diced avocado or guacamole, tortilla chips
Directions:
1. Add chicken breasts to the bottom of the slow cooker and rub with cumin.
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
3. Remove cooked chicken breasts, shred or dice and stir back into soup.
4. Serve with toppings.
Apron Strings Tips: Kick it up by using a medium or hot version of salsa. If you have time, adding 1 tsp. of chili powder and 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder to the cumin in step 1 can really enhance the flavor.
Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tortillas
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Juice from 2 limes
1 tsp. cumin
1 bunch fresh cilantro, torn
1 (16-oz.) bag frozen extra sweet corn
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c. diced red onion
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. burrito-size flour tortillas
Directions:
1. Add chicken breasts to the bottom of the slow cooker. Squeeze limes over the top and rub chicken with cumin.
2. Add all other ingredients on top and cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Remove cooked chicken breasts, shred or dice and stir back into mixture.
4. Serve in tortillas.
Apron Strings Tips: I like to have sour cream and guacamole available with these. The kids add salsa. We’ve also tried this recipe as a salad and adding a few crushed tortilla chips on top.
Simple Chicken Nachos
This recipe was pulled together because of the abundance of chicken breasts in the refrigerator and lack of time to utilize the slow cooker on this one.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
2 Tbsp. chili powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. olive oil
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
1 bag tortilla chips
2 (8-oz.) bags shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Toppings: jalapeno slices, guacamole, chopped pitted black olives, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rub chicken breasts with taco seasoning and chili powder.
2. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté on both sides until browned, about 5 minutes per side; remove from skillet and set aside. In the same skillet, add the tomato sauce and 2 cups hot water and bring to a gentle boil.
3. Shred the chicken and return it to the liquid and simmer on low for 15 minutes.
4. Arrange a layer of tortilla chips into two baking dishes. Sprinkle both with cheese and then shredded chicken; repeat twice more with each layer. Top with cheese. Bake just until the cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Add toppings and serve.
Apron Strings Tips: I picked up some oven-proof serving dishes that work great for this purpose. Each person can add what they like for toppings and have their own dish!
