Two Ingredient Southwestern Chicken (Crock Pot)

I make Two Ingredient Southwestern Chicken pretty frequently. It's versatile, easy, and delicious- it can be shredded, diced, left whole, whatever is needed. You can make several meals out of it, and you can freeze what you don't use right away.

You're busy; this is something that doesn't require a lot of prep or fussing over.  


Two Ingredient Southwestern Chicken (Crock Pot)
Printable recipe

Ingredients:
4.5 to 5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, visible fat removed
2 (16 oz.) jars salsa (I like Walmart's World Table Roasted Tomato Chipotle Salsa)*

Directions:
Place chicken breasts evenly in a 6 quart slow cooker. Cut larger breasts in half so everything will cook at about the same rate. Sprinkle chicken breasts lightly with salt, if desired. Pour both jars of salsa evenly over chicken to cover all. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours. Of course, you know these times are approximate- everyone's crock pot seems to cook a little differently.

When the chicken breasts are done to your liking, you can leave them whole (with the sauce spooned over them), chunk them for stews, shred for tacos, whatever you like. It will look like you have a lot of sauce in the pot, but when you shred the chicken, it soaks up a lot of it.

This chicken freezes really well for a long time. I don't think you're supposed to freeze cooked chicken for over about 6 months, but I found a bag of this in the back of the freezer the other day (unlabeled, arrgh), and it might have been close to a year old. It was delicious and we didn't die, but you should probably be more responsible than that.

Bonus! :) One of my favorite ways to use Two Ingredient Southwestern Chicken is in this soup (also easy, and fast):


Southwestern Black Bean Soup 
Printable Recipe
Makes 3 quarts

1 cup uncooked instant brown rice
2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes (do not drain) I like Hunt's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes.
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 small can (4 oz.) chopped green chiles (do not drain)
1 cup shredded Two Ingredient Southwestern Chicken

In a large saucepan, combine rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add everything else, bring to a boil again, and simmer, uncovered, for another 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Freezes well.

*Cook's Notes: Use a good, flavorful salsa when preparing Two Ingredient Southwestern Chicken. I have used several different kinds and flavors, including a peach salsa that was very good.

Southwestern Chicken may have been taken to some of these fun parties!

This post was written by me and was originally published at Texas Women Bloggers.