crock pot

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

If I had to pick one type of food to eat the rest of my life I could pretty easily say, Mexican food. Living in El Paso really spoiled me when it comes to Mexican Food. I am a Mexican Food snob.  Yes, I know there are different styles from the different regions and I am good with that, well, as long as the food is tasty. I would even be tempted to go back to eating gluten for the fresh made tortillas from Vista Market. Heck, just give me some of their tamales and a strawberry Jarritos and i’m good. Seriously, it is one of the only soda’s I will drink.

I live in North Carolina now though and we have tried several Mexican restaurants and while we have found a couple that were ok nothing has really wowed us. Thankfully I can make some pretty good Mexican dishes and I am always keeping my eye out for new dishes. One of the recipes I tried recently was for Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos.

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

The recipe had me at Slow Cooker. My crock pot is one of my favorite time savers for busy nights. When my kids were in track we ate crock pot meals on a nightly basis. In my opinion it is so much better to put something in the crockpot for dinner than to stop and get fast food on the way home.

This recipe had an interesting twist to the “normal” crock pot recipes. It was roasting a whole chicken in the crockpot while resting on top of aluminum foil balls. I had cooked whole chicken in the crockpot  before but never using the foil ball method. I was intrigued with how it would turn out. So I stuffed the cavity with limes and simply seasoned with seasoned salt and fresh garlic. The original recipe called for wine also but I skipped that part. Chicken broth is often substituted for wine and I knew that cooking in a slow cooker would produce enough juices that extra liquid wouldn’t be needed, and it wasn’t. The end result was a juicy falling apart chicken. The chicken skin was just missing the typical roasted crispness but I was ok with that. I wasn’t cooking it for the skin but the chicken meat to make a family favorite,tacos!  All that was left for me to do was shred the chicken and serve. I kept the cilantro on the side instead of mixing in just in case some of my family members decided to be on team no cilantro. I know some people love cilantro while others hate it. Cilantro love and hate is something that has been studied for years like in this article. My family usually loves it but kids can be picky for no reason.

With lime wedges on the side my family ate their chicken tacos and loved them and asked me to make them again the next night. If I do say so myself they were pretty tasty and will be a welcome addition to our dinner rotation.

What type of food is your favorite?

Do you use your crock pot? What do you use it for?

Do you love or hate cilantro? 

 

4.5 from 2 reviews
Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
 
Author:
 
Ingredients
  • 3 sheets aluminum foil, rolled into balls
  • 1 (5 pound) whole chicken
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, or more to taste
  • 8 cloves garlic, or more to taste, crushed
  • 4 limes, quartered
  • ½ cup white wine (optional)
  • 20 corn tortillas, warmed
  • 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • additional limes for serving
Instructions
  1. Put aluminum foil balls in the bottom of a slow cooker crock.
  2. Season chicken with seasoned salt. Rub half the garlic on the inside surfaces of the chicken's cavity and leave them inside. Squeeze 8 lime quarters into the cavity; drop the squeezed quarters into the cavity. Place the chicken atop the foil balls. Squeeze 8 more lime quarters over the outside of the chicken; drop squeezed lime quarters into the bottom of the crock. Rub remaining garlic over the outside of the chicken and put garlic in the bottom of the crock. Pour white wine into the crock.
  3. Cook on Low until the chicken meat pulls apart easily, 5 to 6 hours.
  4. Remove chicken to a cutting board. Remove meat from bones and shred completely. Serve chicken on warmed tortillas with cilantro for topping and lime wedge.

original recipe found on Allrecipes.com

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Hello March! Well I think it is March. It was all nice and spring like but then something happened. In less than an hour yesterday our temperature went from a beautiful and warm 70 to a windy, chilly and rainy 40. Those chilly and rainy days leave me wanting to make soup. Some people buy bread and milk when under a winter storm advisory but I buy the stuff to make soup and well, hot chocolate.  Who wants a milk sandwich when you can have a hearty bowl of soup or a mug of hot chocolate when you come in from the cold?
Slow cooker taco soup is one of my families absolute favorite soups and I make on a semi regular basis during the cooler months. It is also one of the easiest soups to make in my opinion.  You take several canned ingredients, chicken breast, an onion, taco seasoning and basically just throw them in the crockpot and let it cook all day and then voila you have taco soup.


Slow Cooker Taco Soup

 

For those of you saying eww canned stuff, let me say that not all canned foods are bad. I have a few staples in my house. Mainly canned tomatoes and canned beans, green chiles and sometimes I will buy canned corn too. This recipe uses all of those canned items plus pre-made chicken broth. The sodium is a bit higher for those of you who are watching your sodium but it is still lower than what you would find in a can of premade soup. This recipe is very flexible and if you want to use homemade chicken broth feel free to sub it, I know I have. Just as I have used thawed, frozen corn in place of canned and homemade taco seasoning in place of packaged taco seasoning. You can really customize it to your personal taste and still end up with an awesome soup.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Slow Cooker Taco Soup
 
Author:
 
A easy to make family favorite
Ingredients
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 (16 ounce) can pinto or chili beans
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
  • 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1 (32 fluid ounce)container chicken broth
  • 1 (28ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chilies, undrained
  • 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
  • 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
  • sour cream (optional)
  • crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
  1. Place the onion, pinto/chili beans, black beans,green chiles, corn, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and crushed tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
  2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled and shred chicken breast (I like to use my kitchen aid). Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Crockpot Black Beans and Pork Chops

It is time for Sunday supper! On Sunday’s I try to make an extra special supper for my family to enjoy. If we have plans for the day I sometimes need to take our dinner to the crockpot so I can get supper on the table on time. This week I doubled and tweaked a Myplate recipe from Allrecipes.com and threw it in the crockpot for a quick, easy and healthy Sunday supper. Black Beans and Pork Chops was a hit in my family and I hope it is one in your house also!

This dish is seriously easy to make! First take some pork chops and put them in the bottom of your crockpot. Salt and pepper to taste.

Crockpot Black Beans and Pork ChopsAs the recipe suggested I did use bone in pork chops but I suggest using boneless to avoid accidentally getting pieces of bone. Yes the pork chops were so tender they fell off the bone.

Next, rinse your black beans and throw on top of the pork chops .

Crockpot Black Beans and Pork Chops

Finally add salsa and cilantro. I used dried cilantro just because that is what I had on hand.

Crockpot Black Beans and Pork Chops

Now all you have to do is set to low  for 6-8 hours (depending on your crockpot).

Crockpot Black Beans and Pork Chops

When done serve with some white rice, a sprinkle of cilantro and fresh avocado on the side and enjoy!

Black Beans and Pork Chops

from Allrecipes.com  (to make in Crockpot please follow my directions above)

4 Bone in Pork Chops

Ground Black Pepper

1TB Olive Oil

1 15oz can Black Beans

1 cup Salsa

1TB fresh Cilantro

Directions

  1. Season pork chops with desired amount of pepper. Select a frying pan large enough to hold all four pork chops in a single layer. Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown pork chops on both sides.
  2. Pour undrained beans and salsa over pork chops and season with cilantro. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer until pork chops are cooked through, about 20 to 35 minutes depending on chop thickness. If unsure of time, cut a pork chop in half to verify there is no pink left.