A friend and I were planning a lunch menu for an upcoming event and we wanted something quick and easy. She came up with the best idea - chicken tacos, cooked in a slow cooker. I realized that every time I made chicken tacos, I grilled chicken breasts or thighs on the grill. I had some chicken in the refrigerator, so I decided I would give the slow cooker idea a try.
That picture was the outcome of very little work! My recipe? Made it up on the fly. Here it is:
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- ½ package Simply Organic Southwest Taco Seasoning
- 2 packages Frontera Garlicky Carnitas Slow Cook Sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 onion, quartered
Cook the Chicken
Start by rubbing the taco seasoning on both sides of the chicken. Put everything into the slow cooker, set the temperature to low, then cook for 6 hours. When the chicken is done, take out the breasts, shred the chicken and you are ready to serve!
Carnitas sauce for chicken? Yup, seems weird, right? Well, I as shooting for the garlic and lime flavor and it actually tasted great. The chicken was very moist and you could taste that touch of lime. Adding the taco seasoning gave the chicken that extra spicy bite I was looking for.
I served the tacos with another squeeze of lime, shredded cheddar cheese, and then added a splash of Frontera Jalapeño Hot Sauce
Ugh! I really need to work on my pictures!
I’ve made a similar recipe in the past using pork shoulder (my favorite!). I used a 3 ½ pound pork shoulder, covered it with kosher salt, pepper, and cumin, then browned it on all sides. I added the pork to the slow cooker with the two packages of Carnitas sauce plus two cups of water (instead of chicken broth). I cooked the pork for 9 hours, then shredded it and served it the same way as the chicken. I also made pork nachos with this later in the week and added some green onions and cilantro to the nachos.
What is great about both recipes is that you can freeze the meat, defrost it, and reheat it at anytime. It definitely is a great quick meal!
Enjoy!