Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Another recipe already?!  Yes, friends!  Aren't you lucky?

I pinned this recipe a while ago, and finally made it!  It's a two-fer!

First... 
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Serves ~ 12

1 Envelope Taco Seasoning
6 Pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 16-ounce jar Salsa
Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. You do not need to add any water to the taco seasoning.

(I actually mixed the taco seasoning and salsa together before dumping!)

Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

This is what it looked like after 7 hours... so I grabbed a spatula (my favorite kitchen gadget!!) to stir it up a bit...

And it shredded so easily!!

The next day I made tacos for dinner... they were YUMMY!!

After eating my my tacos, I dived into making the next recipe with the same chicken!

Second...

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves: 6

2 cups of the shredded chicken
One 32oz box of chicken broth
One can corn (drain)
2 handfuls chopped cilantro
One squeezed lime*

One can diced tomatoes
One can diced tomatoes w/ chiles
1/2 large yellow onion
One can black beans
2-3 table spoons of tomato paste
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 teaspoons of chile powder
2 teaspoons of garlic powder

Dump everything in a pot and simmer for ~30 minutes.

* Yup - I squeezed a lime.

First four ingredients...

Next four ingredients...

Finished!

After simmering for about 45 minutes I let it sit for awhile and then refrigerated overnight. This soup will make your house smell amazing!

I ate it the next night for dinner... it was really good!!!  If you like things spicy, it definitely can be kicked up a notch or two :)

I will definitely make this again!  I was able to freeze the soup and some of the chicken.  I used the chicken to make tacos one night, put it on my salad at lunch the next day and in the soup... and still had a lot left over!  So I was able to freeze small portions so I could easily have chicken tacos whenever I wanted. :)

Mexican Dorito Casserole

As part of my 2013 New Year's Resolutions, I am trying 2 new recipes each month.

On January 1st I made Pork & Sauerkraut.  I didn't document it, or take pictures, but I made it!!  And I made homemade mashed potatoes too.  It was yummy!!  You can grab the recipe here.  I added Granny Smith Apple & brown sugar.

So, for my second recipe of the month, I tried Mexican Dorito Casserole.  I had all of the ingredients but Doritos & cheese, so quick stop to the grocery store and I was on my way!!  I found the recipe on Pinterest, which lead me to the Jam Hands Blog.  First, here is the original picture...

Here is the recipe:
Mexican Dorito Casserole 
Serves 4-6


2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 c. shredded cheese (or more if you are a cheese hound)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos-mild)
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)
Bag of doritos


1. Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except Doritos.

3. In a greased 2 qt baking dish, put a layer of crushed Doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

Here's all the ingredients mixed except the chicken.... which was cooking :)

First layer of Doritos.

Ready to bake!  I am a cheese hound, so I added a ton of cheese to the top... yum!!!

All done!  

My after shot...

REVIEW:
I would give this 6.5 - 7 stars out of 10.  Definitely wasn't bad, but I probably would not make it again.  I didn't like the Doritos in there as much as I thought I would.  The leftovers were ok, needed to add some water while microwaving, and it was still a little dry.  But was definitely fun and had a nice taste!

MODIFICATIONS:

• I cubed my chicken.  I'm not a good "shredder" of chicken... 
• I used 1 1/2 to 2 cups cheese 
• I poured 1/2 the juice out of the Rotel tomatoes.  I wasn't sure if I should drain them or not... if I were to make this next time, I would not have drained them!
• I used at least 2/3 of the packet of taco seasoning.
• I did not use the whole bag of Doritos... probably 80% of the bag.

My New Addition

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

That's what I've been listening to for the past 3 months.  I desperately needed a new faucet.

And my friend Monika was awesome enough to help me over my birthday weekend.

There were a few set-backs... first I couldn't find the main valve to turn off the water (nice girly move there)... then the nuts were corroded to the pipe and Monika & I were not strong enough (another girly move) so we had to call my friend Ben to help.  While waiting for Ben we found that my new faucet was missing a part... so back to Lowe's.

Finally we were on a roll once Ben showed up.  He ended up installing shut-off valve thingies (since they were missing).  Then handed over the tools to me & Monika... well mainly Monika. haha!

We still needed some help from Ben - thank goodness he stuck around... but we finally got it installed and it looks GREAT!!

I even have a cool soap dispenser now!

Now onto a new counter top... ;)