Crockpot Taco Chicken

Whenever I think of the crockpot, I conjure up images of drafty cold winter days or damp rainy weekends in my head. Admittedly there are few things better than coming home from a long day of work or school on a cold winter's day (when it gets dark out at 4:00pm) to a warm house filled with savory foody fragrance.

But considering how easy crockpot cooking is, shouldn't it be used year-round? Get up in the morning, throw everything in the crockpot, and come home in the evening to instant dinner. It's like having your own personal chef cooking for you. Well, almost. Someone needs to invent a crockpot that can cook in multiple sections so you can have an entire 4-course meal waiting for you at the end of the day. ;-)

I don't remember where I got this recipe from. It's probably a combination of pieces of numerous recipes I've come across over the years, but I've been making this for quite a while now. The beauty of this recipe is that you can add whatever you want to the base, including a bag of frozen peas or corn, different types of beans, diced bell peppers, etc. And instead of using plain canned diced tomatoes, you can used canned tomatoes with peppers, zesty tomatoes, or even RoTel. You also don't have to use chicken, I've made it with pork loin and that's delicious as well. It's also great as leftovers the next day (or even the next week) as the flavors have time to all meld together.

Crockpot Taco Chicken
Adapted from I don't remember where.


Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, all visible fat removed
  
• 2 tablespoons dry taco seasoning
• several dashes of garlic powder
• several dashes of onion powder
• 1/4ish teaspoon salt
• 1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
  
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans
• half a 4 oz can of diced jalapenos
  

Directions:

• Layer everything into your crockpot in the order listed above. Set on low for 8 hours.
• After the 8 hours, shred chicken with two forks and mix it all up well. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving so the shredded chicken can soak up all of the yummy goodness.
  
• Serve rolled up in warm soft tortillas, stuffed in crusty bread for a sandwich, scooped with Triscuits, or ladled over rice with a dollop of sour cream.