Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

Here’s a tasty dinner that’s simple to throw together and takes just a few ingredients.  You’ll need boneless, skinless chicken breasts, black beans and salsa to start with.  Layer them in the crock pot in that order.  The amounts and proportions are flexible, so do what works for however many you’re feeding.  Here, I used 6 chicken breasts.

Brining the chicken first keeps it juicy and evenly seasoned, but if I’m in a hurry I skip the brine and simply season it with salt.

Also, if you plan on using both canned black beans and canned salsa (both of which have lot of added salt), I’d recommend skipping the brine/salt at this stage, or you may end up with too salty of a finished product.

Next, I add the black beans—about 4 cups of unseasoned beans which I’d previously cooked and frozen in a ziploc bag (and this time forgot to thaw.)  No problem, though.  A quick whack on the counter separates the beans, and frozen beans do not significantly increase cooking time.

Next, dump in the salsa.  Next to homemade, we like Tostitos brand.  Here, I used 1 1/2  jars of the 15.5 oz. size.

Cover, turn the crock on low, and cook for 4-5 hours.  Depending on how full your crock is, you may need more time.

When I’m getting closer to serving time, I stir in a bag of frozen corn.  Some people add corn from the get-go, but I prefer the taste and texture of corn that hasn’t been cooked for hours; so I don’t add it until later—about 20 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

When you’re ready to serve, plate it up with some delicious brown rice, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Alternatively, in lieu of sour cream, I’ll sometimes throw in a brick of cream cheese when I add the corn.  As it melts, it makes the whole thing nice and creamy.  Enjoy!

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