The other night, my husband and I were out to dinner with a few other couples. People I did not know. We were all getting along. We were at an amazing restaurant. The conversation turned to cooking… a favorite topic of mine! I was excited. I was in my element. One of the men asked another couple, what kinds of foods do you like to cook? They had exciting answers – a wide array of food. The couples look toward us, I am ready! And then… my husband chimes in, “Erin loves her slow cooker.” Gah! Yes, darling, I do, but let’s not start the discussion with the so un-sexy slow cooker.
For me, the beauty of the slow cooker is not that it is its own genre of cooking, but rather the slow cooker allows busy parents (busy people!) the ability to make any type of food, any family favorite, a little bit easier.
My kids will do just about anything for tacos or anything resembling tacos. My husband, on the other hand, can only handle tacos about 6 times a year, so I try to change things up a little bit to keep everybody happy but not create an impossible amount of work for myself. Enter the slow cooker.
For my kids, this is still Taco Tuesday. For my husband, I texted him that we were having slow cooker shredded chicken quesadillas…
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
Taco seasonings – cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper (maybe more!)
Corn tortillas or corn tacos
Shredded cheese or crumbled queso fresco
Diced tomatoes & scallions for toppings
DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine chicken breasts (thawed or partly thawed), tomatoes, liquid, and seasonings in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
2. Shred chicken with 2 forks.
3. Making quesadillas … melt butter in a hot pan, add one corn tortilla and shredded chicken and cheese. Cover with another corn tortilla. Cook for a few minutes and turn over. Cut into triangles.
4. Serve quesadillas topped with diced tomatoes, scallions, sour cream, and guacamole!
Notes about taco seasoning … You can buy pre-made taco seasoning at a store but be sure to check the labels. Many of them are not gluten free and others contain a lot of stuff you don’t want to be eating. It really is super easy to make your own taco seasoning. I don’t have a favorite recipe – I just throw a bunch of stuff into the pot, but, if you are looking for a specific recipe, I do like this taco seasoning recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.
