Recipe Review: Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

I absolutely adore my slow cooker. What else is easier than dumping in some ingredients, turning it on, and then a few hours later.... dinner is done! This recipe seriously couldn't be easier. And it's SO GOOD!  I found the recipe on Pinterest, and the original source can be found here.

I modified my recipe slightly, but the original recipe calls for:

• 24 oz jar salsa
• juice from 1 lime
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1.25 oz package of taco seasoning
• 2 jalapeno peppers chopped (optional)
• 6 chicken breasts

I only had an 18 oz jar of salsa, so I mixed that with a can of crushed tomatoes and added an extra half packet (that I already had opened) of taco seasoning. Stir this together with the lime juice, cilantro and jalapenos. I omitted the cilantro, since my husband doesn't like it. I also did not add the jalapeno so the kids would be able to eat it as well.

Once mixed, I layered the salsa mixture and the chicken into the slow cooker.

I covered and cooked the chicken on low for about 5 1/2 hours. The last hour I uncovered and turned on high. The salsa mixture was a little watery so I wanted some of the liquid to cook out. It turned out great. The chicken was so tender it literally fell apart as I was removing it from the slow cooker.

As a side dish, I prepared some rice with taco seasoning. I chopped and sauteed some green, yellow and red bell peppers to add in.

I served mine with some sliced avocado and sour cream. It was delicious!

Enjoy!

Recipe Review: Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Bites

The original recipe is by Rachael Ray and it can be found here. I love her 30 minute meal recipes. They are super simple, quick and delicious. I try to make a new and different recipe at least once a week. My husband would be perfectly content having the same meals over and over again. (He's super picky and sticks with what he likes.) I, on the other hand, need variety. I love food and I love trying out new recipes. I needed something quick and easy that I could make before we headed out food shopping this evening. I also needed something that our 2 small children could eat too, with a simple modification.

After chopping my chicken into bite sized pieces I tossed them with a few teaspoons of hot sauce, according to the recipe. Then, still following the recipe, dredged them in the dry pancake mix, then dipped them in the batter made of pancake mix, water and hot sauce. I typically don't measure things, I simply mixed the 2 1/2 cups of pancake mix with enough water to make a slightly thicker pancake batter, then added hot sauce to taste. I added the coated chicken in batches to canola oil over medium low heat and cooked until dark golden brown. (For the kiddos I simply made some extra batter on the side without the hot sauce.) These weren't spicy for me or the hubs at all, so after cooking and letting them cool I tossed them in some additional hot sauce. Much better.

What I love most about cooking is being able to tweak things to your personal preferences. This recipe is a perfect example. I will definitely make these again, probably when having guests over for a birthday party, super bowl party, holiday, etc. It would be easy to make a large batch and keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve.