Slow Cooker: Southwestern Chicken & Beans

To say I love my crock pot is an understatement.  It’s nothing short of a miracle what that appliance can do for you in the kitchen.  I love being able to pile in ingredients and then forget about them for the rest of the day.  Actually, that’s not true; I’m reminded of whatever happens to be in there when the apartment starts to fill with mouth-watering aromas.

One of my favorite meats to cook in a slow cooker has to be chicken.  Unlike tenderloins, roasts, and ground meat, you don’t have to brown or sear chicken before you throw it in the crock pot.  This means chicken slow cooker meals usually have much shorter prep times.  I’m not exaggerating – Within 10 minutes of starting this recipe, your slow cooker will be filled and set to cook for the next 5 hours!

Recently, there were two chicken recipes I came across on Pinterest and both sounded so appealing, that I couldn’t choose between the two (Pip & Ebby and The Gracious Pantry).  So, instead I decided to do a mash-up of the recipes and add a couple of twists!

On to the good stuff…

Thinly slice your red onion and spread the slices evenly along the bottom of your slow cooker.

Next, place your chicken breasts on top and sprinkle with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Since your chicken is setting atop the onion, it’s going to soak up all of that delicious flavor too.

Spoon the salsa and diced tomatoes on top of the chicken and spread evenly.  Next, drain and rinse the canned beans and corn.  Keep rinsing until the liquid runs clear then add to the slow cooker and squeeze the lime on top.  Carefully mix the beans, corn, and lime juice together without upsetting the tomato/salsa layer.

Edit:  It would have been easier if I had mixed the canned beans, corn, and lime juice in a separate bowl first and then added the mixture to the slow cooker.  You live and you learn :).

Set your slow cooker on low and go do whatever you’d like for the next 5-7 hours.  In our case, Jon and I went to the movies and when we got back, dinner was served.  Keep in mind that the cooking time will vary based on the number of chicken breasts you add (I only cooked 2 for 5 hours but 4 breasts would probably be closer to 7 hours).

There are so many different ways you can serve this dish – Eat it by itself, pair it with my Fresh Rainbow Quinoa Salad, serve over my Southwestern Inspired Rice or cous cous, scoop it up with tortilla chips, shred the chicken for tacos, or even add chicken broth and make it a soup!

Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken & Beans

Ingredients

• 2-4 raw boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can pinto beans (low/no sodium added)
• 1 can black beans (low/no sodium added)
• 1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes (low/no sodium added)
• 1 can shoe-peg corn
• 1 jar (12oz) preferred salsa
• 1 lime
• 1/2 medium red onion
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

What to Do

1. Thinly slice the red onion and spread the slices evenly along the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Place the chicken breasts on top and sprinkle with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Spoon the salsa and diced tomatoes on top of the chicken and spread evenly.
4. Drain and rinse the canned beans and corn until the liquid runs clear.
5. Combine beans and corn in a separate bowl with the lime juice.
6. Add bean and corn mixture to slow cooker.
7. Cook on low for 5-7 hours (depending on number of chicken breasts).

Tags: black beans, chicken, chicken breasts, Crock Pot, lime, pinto beans, pulled chicken, recipes, salsa, shredded chicken, Slow cooker, southwestern, taco seasoning

• August 21, 2012
• Main Dishes, Recipes
• 9 Comments