Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

The kids asked for seconds.

Did you hear what I just said? SECONDS. And the food wasn’t fried, on a stick, drenched in syrup or ketchup, or fresh from the microwave.

~*~*~Happy Dance!!~*~*~

Today, I made crockpot chicken tacos. And yeah, I could have dumped chicken in the crock with a bottle of taco sauce, but didn’t feel like all the salt. Ditto for those envelopes of taco seasoning from the grocery store–those things are wretched. And honestly, it took me two seconds to toss some canned tomatoes and spices into the crock (OK, a minute or two because I was tasting and figuring amounts along the way) and bury some chicken breasts in there. And then it took me two more minutes at the end to pull the meat out, shred it (tho it pretty much shredded itself after simmering in there all day), and plop it onto tortillas.

Taco meat freezes absolutely beautifully. Go ahead and double or triple this. Cook it up, shred it, add a little sauce, put it in a freezer bag, squeeze all the air out, and pop it into the icebox for an easy dinner on a hurricane day. And this recipe would work with beef or pork if you’re not in a chicken mood.

I set this on our kitchen island as a buffet. A bowl of shredded meat with smaller bowls of salsa, guacamole, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cheese. A plate of tortillas. Another big bowl of Mexican rice evened things out.

It was healthy. It was deliciously simple. It was actually pretty cheap, all things considered. And they asked for seconds. I may live off that moment for days. (It’s also gluten-free if you opt for corn tortillas or serve the meat as part of a salad.)

To make my slow cooker tacos, you’ll need:

2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion flakes (or 1/2 tsp onion powder)

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp smoked chipotle Tabasco (not the regular super hot stuff!)

2 tbsp vinegar (I used apple cider but white is great too)

1 pound chicken, any cut you like

Drain one can of the tomatoes. In a bowl, mix together both cans of tomatoes (one undrained), spices, Tabasco and vinegar. Stir together until well blended

Use a fork to poke holes throughout the chicken.

Pour half of the tomato mixture into your slow cooker. Put chicken on top of that, and then pour remaining sauce on top. Cook on low 8 – 10 hours.

Remove chicken from crock and shred with forks. Put it into a bowl and spoon the tomatoes from the crock into it. Add a few spoons of sauce to the meat and serve in taco shells with diced tomato, shredded lettuce, cheese, guacamole, sour cream…the sky’s the limit. Enjoy.

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