That’s my crock-pot. It doesn’t look intimidating, does it? Sure, it says “Rival,” which makes me think it might have a competitive edge, but other than that it’s just another piece of cookwear. And yet I was scared to use it for YEARS. It just seemed new and hard, and I already knew how to use the oven, so, you know. Oh, I’m sorry, is my fear of change showing?
A little over a week ago, Mandy mentioned this Slow Cooked Barbecue Pork recipe, and the ol’ gears in my head started turning. Since I was home all day on New Year’s, I figured it would be a good day to try out the crock-pot for the first time. I wanted to supervise it in case it started a fire because I’m a fun person who doesn’t constantly worry about worst case scenarios.
Anyway, it didn’t start a fire and the pork was great. Emboldened, I decided to go further with my crock-pot adventures. On the same blog, I found a recipe/tip that blew my mind. You can put any sauce on any meat, leave it in the crock-pot for 8 hours, and it will turn into something edible. Of course I had to try this.
So on Monday morning, I broke my “no touching raw chicken before 8 a.m. rule” (that’s not really a rule, but honestly, it should be) and tossed the chicken and a jar’s worth of salsa in the crock-pot.
When I got home from work, I could smell the chicken before I even opened the door. That’s when I knew I was a crock-pot convert. Seriously, if you’ve got a crock-pot cult, just hand me my white robe and Reeboks because I’m joining. Dinner was done when I got home. Now I know why almost literally every person who cooks likes crock-pots. Duh, Kerry.
Shredded chicken isn’t the most photogenic food in the world, but here you go anyway. This is what I got after I tore apart the contents of the crock-pot with two forks.
This is probably the easiest dinner you can make. Seriously. Just put chicken in the crock-pot–I used about 2 pounds of boneless, skinless thighs. Then, pour a jar of salsa over them. Make sure they chicken’s mostly covered. You can add a little water if you need to. Then, set it on low for 8 hours. After the time’s up, they should be completely cooked. All you have to do is shred the chicken pieces using two forks.
That’s it! Guys, I conquered my crock-pot fear and made chicken. Life is good.
I made ham and beans with the giant bone left over from my New Year’s Day ham. Just put in the bone, added a pound of beans and lots of water plus salt/pepper/onion powder. Isaac was like “this is so good what’s IN IT??” Um…..ham. And then also beans. And of course served with homemade cornbread! I can talk about the miracle of crockpots all day.
Also your recipe sounds like it would be amazing for taco nights too!
Um yeah, I might need to make that like, tomorrow.
My favorite crockpot “recipe” is a beef roast, a packet of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix (the only time I would ever buy anything with “beefy” in the name), and a cup of red wine or beef broth. You can make French Dip sandwiches or put it over egg noodles or one time I served it in roasted portobello mushrooms with baby spinach and some Italian cheeses.