Sweet and Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken

I made this meat for the 5 de Mayo lunch at work and it was a HUGE hit and super easy. I got it from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (the same place the pb recipes came from for that April birthday party)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Coat the inside of your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until chicken shreds very easily with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Chicken will absorb liquid after it is shredded.) Serve in tacos or however your little heart desires.

Since I had to bring it to work with me I was a little nervous, but it worked perfectly. My mom cooked it for me (just dumped the things in the crock pot) then put it in the fridge - pre-shredding. When I got to work I turned it on high for a little bit to warm it up then literally just wiggled a fork around in it and it fell into shred. Then I left it on warm for a few hours until we were ready to eat. All of the juice was completely absorbed (but it wasn't dry at all) and, for those of you with non-tomato eating families, you can't even tell there are tomatoes.

Southwestern Pasta Salad

So this recipe is a takeoff from Jamie's Southwestern Salad recipe. I didn't have enough fresh ingredients to do a salad justice, and Grandma doesn't really do well with lettuce so I turned it into a pasta salad. I think it's delicious!

1lb pasta
1/2 c frozen corn (fresh would be better)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Some cubed cheddar cheese
Cooked Chicken cut into pieces
1 c or so fresh salsa (jarred would probably be okay too)
Ranch dressing

Make pasta. In the last minute or so of cooking, add in frozen corn
In large bowl, mix together some salsa and ranch dressing until desired flavor and consistency. Add in beans & chicken.
Drain pasta/corn and add to dressing mixture.
When it's all mixed up and cooled a little bit, add in cheese chunks and stir those in.
Mix up and enjoy room temp or cold.

Note: fresh vegis are always better so you could add cucumber, fresh tomatoes, fresh corn, fresh bell pepper, cilantro, etc and this would only get better!

Southwestern salad

Seems like there are a few recipes with these ing already, but here is a new twist

Lettuce- we use spinach
1 can corn
1 can black beans
few chopped tomatoes
shredded cheese
tortilla chips
low fat ranch
salsa

Add the first 5 ing to the bowl. Mix the low fat ranch and salsa. Smash tortilla chips up as a garnish.

Chicken Fajitas, BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is a recipe that is easy, fresh, and delicious. You could also substitute the chicken for shrimp or steak. The leftovers can be morphed into bbq chicken pizza later in the week.

1-2 lbs chicken cut into strips
2-4 bell peppers, a variety of colors, cut into strips
1 med-large onion, cut into strips
taco seasoning
T oil
lime juice
salt
pepper
toppings
tortillas

In a large bowl, combine ingredients. Add any spices that you think would be tasty. Let sit for at least 10 minutes but up to 1 hour.
Heat large grill pan or skillet over medium high heat. Add fajita stuff and cook, stirring occasionally. When chicken is cooked through and vegis are tender, you're done. (if you're using a grill pan, you should get nice char marks!)

Serve with guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, beans, rice, fresh lime juice, etc. Roll up into a warmed tortilla and enjoy!

Bonus Recipe:
Use leftover fajitas and create bbq chicken pizza

Pizza dough
Fajita mix
BBQ sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Green onions, chopped
cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out pizza dough onto baking sheet or pizza stone. Spread bbq sauce over dough. Sprinkle with leftover fajitas, cheese and green onions. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup shredded or cubed chicken
1 jar of salsa
1 can of black beans
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
*1 cup cooked brown rice optional
*1 can diced tomatoes optional
tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, avocado for garnish

In large pot, brown corn over medium heat (5 minutes).
Once corn is browned, add other ingredients and simmer 20+ minutes. Serve topped with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and avocado.

Notes: We eat this soup A LOT. It can be spicy or mild depending on the salsa that you use. We use a southwestern salsa that is kinda sweet and has corn in it.