Crockpot Shredded Chicken (for Tacos)

I love tacos, but sometimes, you gotta deviate from the typical beef/taco seasoning filler, right? Right. That's where this recipe comes in. You know, I think this recipe might even be easier than the ground beef/taco seasoning mixture, too!

Crockpot Shredded Chicken (for Tacos)

Serves about 4...or Matt, Ben and I for dinner (with leftovers)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs frozen chicken breasts (yep, frozen. Told you this was easy!)
1 can diced tomatoes w/chiles (or a jar of salsa, if you happen to have that laying around instead)
1 package taco seasoning
Chicken broth (or water)

Assembly:
Put the chicken breasts in a crockpot. Top the chicken with the diced tomatoes or salsa and taco seasoning.

Pour chicken broth or water around the edges of the chicken (I try to not pour it directly on the chicken, so as to not "wash" off all of the seasonings). I typically add enough chicken broth to cover the bottom of the crockpot (so, maybe a cup?). Don't worry if you don't add a lot of liquid...when the chicken defrosts and cooks, it'll produce some juices, too.

Cover & set on low for about 6-7 hours.

About a half hour before it's ready to serve, I shred the chicken in the crockpot. This lets it marinate in the tomato/seasoning mixture a bit.


We serve this with tortillas, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and onion. It's also really good in taco salads (especially as leftovers! And cold!), enchiladas and nachos. Mmmm, nachos.

Mexican Lasagna

A while ago, I posted a recipe for Mexican Rice - and we really like it as a side dish for tacos, enchiladas, margaritas (wink wink, nudge nudge). However, you can make this rice & use it as part of the following Mexican Lasagna recipe, and it'll be fab there as well.

I have altered the rice a bit since I'm using it in the lasagna & combining it with other flavors (mainly, I added a lot more garlic). Like the rice recipe - and like a lot of things I cook - this recipe is very customizable. You can see the original recipe here.

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:
2 C white rice
2 C reduced sodium chicken broth
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (for a little extra heat, use tomatoes with chilies)
6-8 cloves minced garlic (about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the jarred stuff)
1 large white onion
15 1/4 oz. can corn
1 - 1 1/2 packages taco seasoning
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. ground beef (we use ground chuck)
16 oz. jar salsa verde (green)
1 pkg. 8'" tortillas
4 C Mexican blend shredded cheese
10 oz. can enchilada sauce

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make 2 cups of rice with 2 cups of chicken broth according to the package.

In a large pan (I like to use a wok), add the tomatoes, garlic & onions. Mix thoroughly. I tend to cook it until the rice is done. Add half of your taco seasoning (about 1/2 a package) and stir. Drain the corn & add it to the tomato mixture. Add rice & stir. Set aside.

In the same pan, brown the beef. When cooked, drain & add the rest of your taco seasoning.

Now you can start layering your lasagna (or, you could be daring and start while the beef is browning!). We use a 9x13 glass pan, and this recipe fills it completely.

Layers:
Half of your salsa verde
Tortillas (layer them, like lasagna noodles would be) - I can usually fit 2 or 3 in a row
Half of your rice mixture
Half of your cheese
Tortillas
Enchilada sauce Beef
The rest of the rice
The rest of the salsa verde
The rest of the cheese

Put in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Top with salsa & enjoy! I also like to warm some tortillas & brush with butter to accompany (like garlic bread & lasagna! ;) ).

This also freezes beautifully. This recipe will make enough for at least four meals for us, so you can imagine how much food this turns out to be!

Enjoy!

Mexican Rice

I found this recipe on one of my favorite websites for recipes: The Pioneer Woman. Everything I have made from her website is FAB, and I highly recommend spending a few hours reading her blog.

Anyway, this Mexican Rice recipe is a part of the Mexican Lasagna recipe listed here (I will post my version of the lasagna, soon). I have altered the Mexican Rice to suit our tastes, so without further ado, here's the Y Family version of Mexican Rice...(don't make fun of my photography! This is a food blog...not a picture taking blog! Haha!)

Mexican Rice

Ingredients:
2 C rice (I use Premium Minute)
2 C chicken broth (I like reduced sodium)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes (I use canned w/chiles)
1 can whole kernel corn or fresh corn
1 package taco seasoning
1-2 tsp minced garlic (I use the kind in the jar with the blue top)
1 can black beans (optional)

Assembly:
Cook rice as directed on the package (I use Minute Premium rice, so 2 C rice + 2 C chicken broth, in the micro for 8 minutes).

While the rice is cooking, put the chopped onion, garlic & tomatoes in a large pan and cook over medium heat (I use a wok). Add your taco seasoning and mix. I tend to cook until the onions are just tender (not brown).

Add the corn (and black beans, if you want) and stir again. Cook until heated through.

Mix the tomato/corn/onion/other yummies with the rice.

Serve as a side dish, or in burritos and tacos. (Or, use in the Mexican Lasagna recipe...soon to come!)

***Note*** This recipe is super easy to customize. I tried to list everything we used in our version, but play around with it and make it your own. I have a feeling this recipe will be ever-evolving in our house!