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Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo, and it reminded me that tacos are great– which reminded me of this recipe! Not to be overly dramatic, but I’m about to save your Weekday Meal Planning Liiiiiife. This recipe is so easy, so healthy, so delicious, and can be served with any fixings you want (aka stuff you happen to have in the pantry, or more exotic fixings you picked up in advance especially for the occasion…I’m lookin’ at you, pickled Jalapenos). My favorite part? The prep time is about thirty seconds. Yep.
The secret pièce de résistance of this meal is of course the Slow Cooker– A busy person’s best friend. I love a Slow Cooker because you prep your food, toss it in to the cavity, set it, and then literally forget it. When you get back from work or the school run, dinner is just sitting there waiting for you like your name is Betty Crocker. I recommend investing in a high quality Slow Cooker as it really makes a difference. I had the same $40 Slow Cooker I bought at Walmart in college (it had a big dent in the side) until about a year ago when my Dad took pity on me and got me this one which is like Hercules. There are a bunch of Slow Cooker recipe books you can buy which are mostly all great– I use them often. This recipe doesn’t come from one of those kind of books because it is so easy that it would be embarrassing to put it in a book. It’s like putting “How To Make A Glass Of Water” in a cookbook. I hope you try this and love it. I hope it gives you an extra hour or two hanging out with your family, or watching Real Housewives, or finishing your thesis, or online shopping. You know, the important stuff. Happy Taco making!
INGREDIENTS (Makes 4-6 Tacos)
- 2-3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 jar of your favorite salsa (I like to try a different salsa every time I make this, but always SPICY)
- Small flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup diced Tomatoes
- 1/2 cup cooked black beans
- 1 lime, cut in to quarters
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
- 2 Tbs sour cream (optional)
- 4 Tbs shredded mexican cheese (optional)
- 2 Tbs cilantro leaves, torn (optional)
Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Season generously with salt and pepper. Dump the entire jar of salsa over the chicken breasts. Set the Slow Cooker (I prefer the low setting for extra tender chicken). Walk away. 4-5 hours later, take two forks, and shred the cooked chicken. It should come apart very easily. Transfer the shredded chicken to a bowl, add a couple tablespoons of the cooking liquid/salsa to the chicken mix, and blend well. Cover with foil to keep warm. On a low flame, heat the tortillas directly over the stove burner. Flip with tongs, about ten seconds per side. Place a generous amount of chicken in each tortilla. Top with the tomatoes, beans, and which ever other toppings you prefer. Finish with a squeeze of lime.
Happy Belated Cinco de Mayo and Early Happy Mothers Day to you, your Mom, Kyle’s Mom and Grandmarcia….the tacos look fabulous! (You could use rotisserie chicken too if you are in a pinch.) I have slow cooker envy…your Dad rocks and has excellent taste in cookware. Love to all! Zia Sue
I make this “recipe” at least twice a month. It is my 16 year old’s favorite! I like it best with peach or mango salsa!
Thanks, Girl! This is such a sweet post, it feels like a tip from a good friend. Now that I’m divorced I feel like my slow cooker is my spouse who cooks dinner for the family! Slow cooker love for-eva!
Hello Eva,
Those fast tacos look tasty, and it is not one of those Julia Child marathon cooking sessions, HELLLOOHH!! 😉
I just wanted to humbly wish a Happy Mothers day to you, with the wise co leaders at your blog.
It is my second mother day without my mother, so it is just one of those things, all of the memories of: wisdom, lessons, humor, care, concern, laughter is there, but you cannot call them on the phone and say “lets get together for lunch and a movie.” , which is what my mother and I would do for mothers day.
It was a nice surprise in the past month or so to hear, that the film Mothers and Daugthers is out, with a wonderful ensemble, Selma Blair, Christina Ricci, Sharon Stone, Mira Sorvino, Paul Adelstein, as well as the creative force of this superior blog Eva Amurri Martino, with her mother Susan Sarandon.
As a writer you look for themes in filmed stories. The themes I observed from several characters in this story are: betrayal, lies within a family {what is the ethic (goodness) of the lie?}, responsibility, as well as forgiveness, expectation, growth through uncertainty.
As a writer, a foundational job requirement is a sustained sincere curiosity. Paige Cameron does a wonderful job of creating, in depthly realistic, flawed characters, but people who seek understanding, through real sincere communication, which as a screenwriter is refreshing.
Anyway, sorry to channel my inner Roger Ebert (“two thumbs up”), the most touching two scenes, for me, was when one of the female characters, shared a secret she regrets, but knew it was the right thing to do at the time, the second most touching scene for me, was when one of the male characters told his wife to call her mother, saying “if my mother was still alive, it would be very nice to share with her about my life”, a real man will let go of his ego, with scarring from the way in laws may be treating him, because he knows that the relationship between a parent and a child, could never be replaced, by any significant other.
My mother said the exact same thing, it just a shame that more parents have not have the talks about about what a real wo /man is (it isn’t your income, its your character, reputation, habits, are your words your bond?).
The wise philosopher Socrates once said “men who never marry, or are single for a long time, become philosophers”.
Observationally many women, want men to share jokes right on cue, sometimes I would like to say “sure I am a writer, but do you have ANY idea how long it takes the writers on Big Bang Theory or Friends to create that joke you LOVE so much from each episode?”
Maybe someday we will have robotic droid friends, who when both men and women are single, and on the search they can help us think up more jokes, for dates and things. 😉
My mother always liked watching Dick Clark on American Bandstand, Bryan Ferry with Roxy Music probably made some appearances, here they are with Angel Eyes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYP6F3gX68Q&list=RDZYP6F3gX68Q ), this is for you mom, as well as the members of Ms. Martinos superior blog.
Happy Mothers Day. 🙂
Greg Fillmore
Oooo these look delish! Might have to give this a whirl… thanks for sharing!
Filipa xxx
PlayingWithApparel.com | Instagram
OMG! I.need.those.in.my.life.
Will try this recipe out! Thank you!
Also..I wish I could look as cute as you do when eating! LOL.
XO
Kara
This was SO easy and SO delicious! Still amazed at how simple it was. I only left it in for 4 hours and used Trader Joe’s salsa verde – it came out sooo tasty! Definitely recommend.