Crockpot Chicken Nachos

These are heavenly, scrumptious, delicious, and amazing. I only have one picture from the entire (simple, but lengthly) process because I was so excited to plop down on the couch and eat them, I forgot that I might want to blog about them.

These are perfect as a meal, an appetizer, or a snack. And don't be scared by "lengthy." The only reason they take a while is because the crockpot is involved. Actual hands-on time is almost nothing.

Ingredients
Two frozen (or thawed) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Two cups of your favorite salsa (I LOVE Margaritaville salsa from BJ's, and Trader Joe's medium salsa as well)
One cup of water
One can of corn, drained
One cup shredded cheddar
A pile of tortilla chips (I used Wegman's organic yellow corn tortilla chips)

Put the chicken breasts in the crockpot, pour salsa, water and corn over chicken, place lid on crockpot, and cook on high for 5 hours. (I'm sure cooking on low for 10 hours would do the same thing).

Place a single layer of tortilla chips on a nonstick foil lined baking sheet, and sprinkle half of the cheese onto the chips. Top with a thin layer of the chicken mixture (shredded), then top with remaining cheese. Bake for about five minutes, or until cheese is melted.

The last step is very important. Add a small pile of tortilla chips on the side, so you have some slightly baked/soft chips, and some crunchy non-baked ones as well. The combo of textures is delightful.

Enjoy with a glass of red wine, while your children sleep, your husband is out of town, and you are catching up on DVR'd Kardsashian episodes. Or, if you don't want to admit to all of that, just enjoy. ;)

White Chicken Chili

First off, YUM. Seriously, this is so good, and soooo easy. You must make it. You won't be sorry.

We went to the gym after Audrey woke up from her nap this afternoon (her third nap this week, we're on a roll!!!), and hit Trader Joe's afterward when it was super busy with after-work people. I literally tossed a few ingredients into the cart and headed home with both babies.

It's such an easy concoction that I was able to make it in about 15 minutes, while simultaneously feeding an early dinner to my toddler, making a bottle for my six month old, unloading groceries, and catching up with my husband who had just returned home from work.

This is what I used:

shredded chicken (I used TJ's canned chicken. Don't judge. I have never even thought of using it before, but it called out to me from the shelf when it knew how late we were running for dinner/bedtime. Because I used it in chili, you can't even tell.)

1/2 of a white onion, chopped

1 T olive oil

1 can of white kidney beans

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of corn

1/3 jar of salsa verde

1/4 jar of salsa (see picture for size of jar)

about 2/3 cup monterey jack cheese, cubed

about 1/3 cup pepper jack cheese (or jalapeno monterey jack cheese), cubed (to taste...use more pepper jack if you like spice, and use less pepper jack/more monterey jack if you like a more mild flavor)

2/3 cup water

Pour olive oil into a large pot on medium heat, and add the onions. After about a minute, add the chicken and stir. Add the water to the pot, followed by everything else. See, it's easy. :-) Just make sure you stir constantly so the cheese melts evenly and doesn't burn. Turn it down to low heat after the cheese cubes are melted, and let it cook for another 10 minutes or so. Stir every 2-3 minutes during that time. Spoon into bowls and enjoy! I served it with some french bread we had in the freezer. It would also be really good with corn bread or tortilla chips.

Super Quick, Healthy Side Dish

I was looking for something easy to serve as a side dish, and at the same time, wanted to use up some of my canned veggies that don't get a lot of attention. I realize summer isn't an ideal time to use canned veggies, but I was in pantry clean-out mode, so canned veggies it had to be. :)


Ingredients:

One bag of frozen organic brown rice from Trader Joe's, cooked (3 min in microwave)
One can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
One can black beans
One can sweet corn

1 t ground cumin

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper
One cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup shredded cheese to sprinkle on top

Mix the first nine ingredients together, pour into a small baking dish (8x8 would work), and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for the last five minutes. Yields about 4-6 servings. Enjoy!