Cooking chicken in the crockpot is probably the best idea I’ve ever had. It’s almost completely hands-off, and turns out the BEST shredded chicken I’ve personally been able to produce! The recipe I’ve included below is the one that I found on Food.com and used to get the basic idea for cooking chicken in the crockpot.

I tend to use just a regular 2-3 lb pack of chicken (I’m cheap, and it’s just me, so I don’t need a ton of chicken), and I usually put closer to 2 cups of water in the crockpot rather than the suggested 1/2 cup, and the chicken is usually done within 4-5 hours in the crockpot. It’s wonderful because the chicken practically shreds itself when you pull it out!

See the chicken is already coming apart in the crock pot? Wonderful!

I used a large pack of chicken the first time and froze a bunch to use at a later time. It kept beautifully in the freezer. I’ve also made this shredded chicken to portion out to top salads, make homemade chicken caesar wraps, and chicken salad. Freezing 2 cup portions for recipes that call for cooked chicken would also be a great idea!

I actually just pulled my third batch of chicken for shredding out of the crock pot a few minutes ago and turned it into a batch of Chicken Salad… so easy I may never cook chicken any other way!

Chicken in the Crockpot for Shredding
Source: Food.com

6 -12 chicken breasts (use as many as you want)
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Place the chicken breasts in the crock pot, Mix water and spices together and pour over the chicken.
Cook on the low setting for 8-10 hours.
Remove chicken breasts, shred or pull the meat from bones, removing skin (it should all fall off easily at this point anyway!).

I’m sad that this picture doesn’t look like a whole lot because I feel like it really doesn’t do this meal justice. I’ve had this Enchilada Lasagna bookmarked for quite awhile now. The original recipe has a picture that looks AWESOME, so go look at that, and don’t let my crappy picture deter you, okay?

I put this together on Monday, when my friend Sarah was coming over to hang out for a few hours. She even said she wasn’t hungry, but after smelling this Enchilada Lasagna she changed her mind! She raved about it, and so did her husband, when I sent a couple servings home with her. As for myself, I thought it was really good. It reminded me quite a bit of my original Creamy Chicken Enchiladas. It was super easy to throw together, and I only made small changes. I didn’t measure my green chiles, but I think the can I used worked out to be about 1/2 cup instead of the 1/4 cup in the recipe, and I used the entire 2 cup container of sour cream instead of 1 1/2 cups and ended up with what I felt was the perfect amount of sauce. I also think that 5 cups of cheese is a little ridiculous, the 3 1/2 cups I ended up using was still plenty ridiculous! I also exchanged all of the soups and dairy products for the healthy request/light options. You couldn’t even tell that it wasn’t full fat!

This definitely is going to be on my “make again” list. It’s a recipe that lends itself well to adjustments. Next time I think I’ll try it with a can of Rotel instead of the green chiles, and possibly 2 cans of cream of chicken soup instead of one and one can of cream of celery. If you make this, and make any adjustments, I’d love to know what you come up with.

Make this one, you won’t regret it!

Chicken Enchilada Lasagna
Source: Mogwai Soup

2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 lbs chicken breast, chopped to bite pieces
5 cups of mexican blend cheese
1 can of cream of celery
1 can of cream of chicken
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup canned and chopped green chiles (drained)
small corn tortillas
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Brown the chicken in 2 Tbs of vegetable oil, and season with the salt, pepper and cumin.
Combine the cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, sour cream, and green chiles in a bowl.
Spread a thin layer of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a large pan or casserole dish. Place one layer of tortillas on the bottom (I used six of the small corn tortillas in each layer). On top of this place approximately one-third of the remaining sauce mixture, and one half of the chicken. Add cheese and then another layer of tortillas. Continue with another third of the sauce mixture, the rest of the chicken and cheese. Finally top with another layer of tortillas, the remaining sauce mixture and more cheese.
Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a really long time now. Last week though, I was looking through my bookmarks again and decided that I was finally going to make it. So I added the ingredients to my grocery list (all four of them), and stuck them all in the crockpot on Sunday morning before I left for roller derby practice.

It couldn’t have been easier to make. Rinse four cans of white beans, toss in 2 cups of salsa and cube up some cheese… sink the chicken breasts in the mixture in the crock pot, turn it on low and walk away. 7-8 hours later, I came back and pulled the chicken out. It just fell apart. I didn’t have to work to shred it at all, I just looked at it, maybe poked it with the fork a little bit and it was done.

I have to be honest though. I just wasn’t crazy about this as a chili. It was alright, but I didn’t want to curl up with that whole bowl of it and eat it as is. It did, however, make an AWESOME taco filling! The next day, I swung by the grocery store again and picked up some soft tortillas, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream and put this chili in the bottom. It was delicious!

White Bean Chicken Chili
Source: Pink Parsley

4 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
8 ounces Pepper jack cheese, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 cups salsa

Combine the beans, cheese, and salsa in a crockpot. Nestle the chicken breasts into the mixture, and cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove chicken breasts, shred with a fork, and return to crockpot. Stir to combine, and serve with desired garnishes.