Kitchen Hack: Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

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One of my big goals for 2015 is to spend less time in the kitchen, and more time with my kids. I feel like I'm always cooking (or cleaning up from cooking), and what was late afternoon suddenly becomes after dinner and bedtime. So, this year I want to use my Crock Pot more, create more freezer meals, and spend less time in the kitchen while still making healthy meals and not resorting to take out...well, at least for January. It's the little victories...

I have a bunch of easy prep, freezer friendly recipes that call for cooked, shredded chicken, but by the time I'm done cooking and shredding the chicken (not to mention basting and seasoning if I'm getting it off a whole baked chicken), I may as well have made a lasagna from scratch or just bought a $9 supermarket rotisserie chicken. But, wait, wait, wait! Using your crock pot, you can make a week's worth of shredded chicken at one time! Whoa. This changed my life, people.


 Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

• 3 lbs chicken (boneless skinless breasts, bonless skinless thighs, or combination)
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tsp Lawry's Seasoning Salt
• 2 C chicken broth

Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred or chop. (It will shred easily.) Chicken can be used immediately, refrigerated for 3-4 days, or frozen for a month. 

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Recipe Collection-Slow Cooker Meals

I've posted a number of Slow Cooker Recipes in my Family Favorite Recipe page, but I wanted to put them all together for you. So, here are my 8 favorite, simple, delicious slow cooker meals!

1. Chili
This is our standby chili recipe. Simply perfect. Add more heat if you prefer, with hot sauce when serving, and serve with cheese, sour cream, fritos, and cornbread.

2. Meatball Soup
If you're tired of serving spaghetti with your meatballs, try this simple soup!

3. Black Beans
This recipe has been the most popular page on my site, and for good reason! It's a wonderful recipe that turns out fantastic. Serve as a main dish with rice, or as a side dish.

4. Refried Beans
Based on my black bean recipe, but using pintos, these slow cooker refried beans are a delicious and healthy way to bring Mexican food to the table!

5. Baked Potatoes
Yes! You can make baked potatoes in the slow cooker! Great as a side dish or even a main dish when you add cheese sauce, chili, broccoli, and bacon!

6. Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Literally the easiest meal you will ever make. Chicken breasts, a can of tomatoes, a can of diced green chilis, and some taco seasoning. Cilantro if you have it. That's it! And it's delicious and versatile!

7. Carnitas
This refreshing shredded pork is great on tostadas, burritos, tacos, and even nachos!

8. Greek Yogurt
You can make Greek Yogurt in the crock pot! And it's actually very easy, although it takes a little while! Serve with fresh fruit or granola.

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"Ask Sara":Entertaining on a Budget

"We often host my extended family for dinner, which we really enjoy, but I'm looking for inexpensive meal ideas to feed a crowd."

-Maria

Thanks for your question, Maria! What a wonderful and meaningful tradition to have your family over to spend time together for dinner. Those are memories you will treasure for a lifetime!

I also understand the need to stay within your budget, and especially while entertaining a group of people, expenses can add up quickly!

You can read some of my favorite ways to stretch meat here, but there are many satisfying, healthy, and flavorful meals you can make without spending a ton. Here are some ideas:

1. Make-Your-Own Bars are fun and inexpensive. By shredding meat for tacos or sandwiches, or making your meat stretch in a chili or soup, you can feed a group on the cheap. Put out some toppings, and let everyone get creative.
I recently had a get-together where I made a chili bar. Including all the toppings and the chili, (serving 12), I spent less than $30 total. 
-Chili  -(cheese, corn chips, sour cream, green onions, white onions, hot sauce, cornbread)

-Tacos/Burritos- (Chicken, Pork, or Beef) (cheese, lettuce, sour cream, avocado, salsa, hot sauce, rice, beans)

-Baked Potatoes- (cheese sauce, chili, bacon, green onions, cheese, sour cream)

-BBQ Sandwiches (Chicken, Pork, or Beef)-(coleslaw, mustard, onions, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, cheese, pickles)

-Pasta-set out different pasta shapes (spaghetti, rotini, farfalle, etc) along with various types of sauce (marinara, alfredo, pesto, etc.) It's fun to mix different sauces together too...Pesto Alfredo is delicious! Set out with cheese and bread. Don't forget my tip on heating pasta in a snap.

-Nachos-(cheese or cheese sauce, jalapenos, sour cream, chili, cilantro, onions, olives, beans (refried or black/pinto), rice, meat such as chicken, beef, or pork)

-Salad-Set out lettuce, several types of dressings, and chopped salad toppers (carrots, celery, hard boiled eggs, strawberries, bacon, avocado, olives, bell peppers, cheese, croutons, mushrooms, shredded chicken, pickles, red onion) Since all the ingredients are chopped and stretch pretty far, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
 
2. Casseroles
Making up a simple lasagna (while cheese can be expensive, you can get a lot of servings out of one dish), or Tex-Mex Casserole can save you time and money in feeding a crowd.

3. Soups and Stews
You can stretch soups and stews to feed every last person in your family. Try something hearty like a beef stew or a ham and split pea soup. $10 worth of meat can feed 12 people. Serve with biscuits or rolls.

4. Potluck 
Another option would be to turn the extended family get-togethers into potlucks. People enjoy contributing food, and this could also mean more time enjoying your family, and less time cooking! If you aren't quite ready to make it a total potluck, provide the main dish and have your guests provide the sides or toppings.

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Slow Cooker Carnitas Recipe

This meal has sort of a Princess Leia thing going on...see the oranges as her braids? As soon as I can pry my eyes away from the uncanny resemblance, I want to share with you a recipe that we love!

Whenever Costco has their pork loins on sale, I'll pick one up (they're usually 8-10 lbs), cut them into 2 pound portions, and freeze them. Two pounds is plenty for our family of 4, and since I try to get the most out of my meat by shredding it when possible, one portion lasts us a couple days. Half of the portions I typically use for BBQ Pork, and the other half I make into shredded Mexican pork, aka Carnitas.

Slow Cooker Carnitas
adapted from Food Network

• 2 lb boneless pork loin or pork roast
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 small jalapeno or 1/2 large jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed
• 1 small orange, or 1/2 large orange halved
• 2 TBS olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

1.  In a large pan, heat 2 TBS olive oil. Season pork with salt and pepper. Sear the pork until browned on all sides. Put into the crock pot. 
2. Mix 1 TBS olive oil with the oregano and cumin. Brush over loin/roast.
3. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeno.
4. Add the juice of the orange and any spent orange halves.
5. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours, until pork shreds easily.
6. Shred pork, add back into the slow cooker, and stir so it can continue to cook in the juices.
7. Keep pork in the juices for one hour on warm or low setting. 
8. Serve as tacos, burritos, tostadas, or over beans and rice.

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Recipe: Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

I received our crock pot as a wedding present, almost 9 years ago, and have used it so much that the insert is permanently discolored from batches upon batches of tomato based soups and black beans. As a newlywed finishing my degree, I would put something in before class, and it would be finished as we got home that evening. Now, as a mom, I use my crock pot as often as possible, because, let's face it, there are some days that dinner wouldn't get on the table if it weren't for the glorious appliance.

This week I found out that you can actually make Baked Potatoes in the crock pot! How perfect is that? Either as a side dish or a main course topped with the works, baked potatoes are a versatile staple that I rarely make, for the sole reason that the last thing I'm thinking about at 4:15pm is putting potatoes in the oven. Microwave at 5:30pm, yes. In the morning when the kids are still mild-mannered, yes. So, what better way to get a head start on dinner than to throw some potatoes in the crock pot?

The skin on these potatoes don't get as crisp as they would in the oven, but they're still good, and I will be using this recipe often in the future!

Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes
Serves 4

-4 Russet Potatoes, thoroughly washed and dried
-Vegetable or canola oil*
-Salt
(*I used extra virgin olive oil and the flavor of the oil was pretty strong, so I would use a more neutral oil next time.)

Stab the potatoes with a fork, rub with a small amount of vegetable or canola oil, and sprinkle with salt. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, until potatoes are soft and tender. Cut open and serve with variety of toppings.

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