52 Bites // V.1

On Thursday, I used my new Crock-Pot for the first time. After reading Rachel’s weekly Foodstuffs post earlier in the week I wanted to try this enchilada chicken stew recipe from PaleOMG, and my parents gave me a Crock-Pot for Christmas, so I got up a few minutes early on Thursday to throw the stew ingredients in the slow cooker.

Putting my faith in the Crock-Pot, I left the house. (I do insurance loss control for a living – leaving an appliance on feels so wrong.) Ten hours later I returned, and was greeted with a delicious, spicy aroma.

Verdict? Dinner was a big hit. The stew was flavorful and spicy, so if you don’t like a little “zing” in your meal, go light on the chiles and jalapeños (you could chop up two green peppers instead, for instance!).

Enchilada Chicken Stew

adapted from PaleOMG
Prep: 15 min. // Cook: 8-10 hours // Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
2lbs chicken breasts
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (4oz) can of chopped jalapenos
1 (4oz) can of chopped green chiles
1 (14oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (7 oz) can tomato sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
bundle of cilantro, to garnish
avocado, to garnish
cheese of choice, to garnish
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
Put chicken breasts in the Crock-Pot. Put all the other ingredients on top of the chicken. Set your Crock-Pot to cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6-8 hours. Once it’s done cooking, use tongs to shred the chicken (it should shred easily if you pick at it with a fork or tongs). Make sure it’s all mixed together.

Garnish with avocado and fresh cilantro. We also sprinkled some shredded cheddar on top – a little bit of melted cheese makes everything more delicious.

I used 4 cloves of garlic instead of 3, because I love garlic. I also used my Pampered Chef garlic smoosher thing to smoosh it, rather than mincing the garlic myself. Oh, and I didn’t have oregano so I skipped it.

Move one more from my “Food I want to make” board to “Food I have made” on Pinterest!

Then I decided to do a weekly food/recipe post, now affectionately referred to as 52 Bites. I’m already a week behind, so you’ll see another “bite” within the next few days. Matt suggested some more creative names for the category, but I think the most realistic candidate would be “Matt’s glad Jacki is finally cooking meals.”