Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Bowl

Alright guys, sorry about last week. I had a minor freak out over my flight being canceled and the airline losing my bag that had my lap top charger in it but I will try to fix it by adding two recipes this week! Today I have for you one of my new favorite winter foods! I love tacos and I love chicken. Its my one draw back from trying to be vegetarian.... So I made this recipe for the first time and let me tell you it was hard to keep my hands out of the slow cooker! My small apartment had an amazing taco smell! Okay before I get to the review I will start the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1½ lbs. chicken breasts
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
• ½ lb. (8 oz.) frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• ½ Tbsp cumin
• ½ Tbsp minced garlic
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp salt
• to taste cracked pepper
• 2 cups dry rice
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar
• ½ bunch cilantro (optional)

Instructions

1. Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker along with ¼ cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.
2. Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.
3. Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to the package directions (Bring the rice and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot with a lid in place, as soon as it reaches a boil, reduced the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving).
4. After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily). Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

Review

 So as you guys know I got stuck on my way home from my little vacation but that doesn't stop me from cooking!!! Plus any recipe that gets me to use my slow cooker I'm all for it! What can I say about this recipe that would make you try it? Well, lets start with how easy it is! All you basically do is throw everything into the crock pot and turn it on for a few hours! Its so easy but the only hard part is the smell. Once you get that taco smell its hard not to try it! Haha! I had so many almost tastes but then I remembered that there was chicken in there and I didn't know if it was cooked or not, so I didn't try it. I will say that when I finally did I was so happy with how it tasted and how fun it was to throw everything into the bowl and eat it! It was an awesome night!  We had left overs and I decided to show you what I do with my leftovers! I try and make everything into a breakfast bowl and believe me its easy! Basically  all I do is add an egg and its a Breakfast bowl! I have some pictures from that too!See how easy that is!!!

 As always,
Ta Ta for now,
Lil' C

Black Bean Tacos!!!

Oh my gosh guys this recipe is so yummy! I again found this one on pinterest. When I saw it I wasn't very sure that I'd like it but oh my gosh its amazing. This post was originally on is Cornerstone Cooking! I haven't actually looked at it as much as I have done with the others but from this recipe I will be sure to keep looking! This recipe will definitely be in my keeper pile!

Ingredients

• 2 C. black beans, cooked
• ½ C. red onion, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• 4-6 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 8 corn tortillas
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Salsa
• Sour cream

 

Instructions

1.  In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro, and spices. Add a pinch of salt and lightly mash all of the ingredients together. Grate your cheese and have it ready as well.
2.  In a large, non-stick skillet, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat over medium-high heat.
3.  Add one corn tortilla at a time and let each get hot in the oil for a few seconds. I tested it with my hand. All you have to do it touch the surface of the tortilla and make sure its warm. Then add about 1/4 cup of the bean filling to one half of the tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of grated cheese.
4.  Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.
5.  As the first tortilla cooks, move it to the side and do a second one. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to get 2 or 3 tacos at once. If you have a griddle you can do even more at once. (we could only get 2 in at a time but it was worth it)
6.  Cook each taco for about 3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned and crispy.
7.  When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use a spatula and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn’t fall out.
8.  Serve tacos with toppings like hot sauce, salsa, avocados, and sour cream. My friend and I added ranch. She is obsessed with ranch! haha.

Note: Corn tortillas are resilient to heat. Don’t worry about burning them. They are very flexible. Just be sure to cook them on each side long enough to get them really crispy. this is important! I didn't see it the first round of tacos and they didn't get as crunchy as I wanted, but still good!

 As I said before this recipe is amazing! I loved it and I can see me making it again and again! I loved the kick of cilantro when you bit in. My roommate on the other hand didn't like it because of the cilantro. I think that if I make it again I might add a little bit of taco seasoning and no cilantro so she could eat it, but I absolutely loved it! I can't wait to try variations! Oh we didn't slice the avocado we mashed it. It just didn't want to come out of the skin but it was still good. Oh and sorry about the pictures this time. My camera just wouldn't work so i had to use my phone. Sorry guys! I hope you try this and please post pictures and leave comments! 

Lil' Char