I love playing in the band at church. The talent on the platform each Sunday is enough to blow my mind, and we have a blast together. The only drawback is the crazy-early rehearsals.
This is NOT our worship team, but a good picture worth a big laugh — my sisters and I singing some beautiful song, at a nursing home, in our fabulously fashionable outfits in 1975, or so.
Are you okay? Didn’t get hurt falling off your chair???
Some Sunday mornings I’m at church for about 6 hours. Not to complain, though, because it is the highlight of my week. BUT, we also like to invite people over for lunch after the final service. That is when the long morning away from home creates a little challenge.
Everyone needs at least one of those never-fail, always-available, hands-off meals that works for busy weeknights, weekends, and even company. And it has to be much more tasty than frozen pizza. 🙂 With only 5 ingredients, and about 5 minutes to assemble before rushing out the door, this creamy dish is perfect.
I usually forget to thaw meat, but that doesn’t matter here. Frozen works perfectly fine. If you use thawed chicken, plan on cutting the cook time by about an hour.
Drop some still-frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the slowcooker. (I really dislike pictures of raw meat…)
Rinse and drain canned black beans.
Dump in a can of diced tomatoes and a jar of salsa. DONE! (Using hot salsa gives it a little more flavour – with mild or medium, the cream cheese can make it a little bland.)
This cooks on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 8 hours.
Using a potato masher, break up the chicken.
This is so much fun that you may have to practice some self-control.
I often take about 1/3 of this batch, before adding cream cheese, and freeze it for an even busier day. You probably have days like that, too!
Cut cream cheese into chunks, and stir in until it’s melted.
Serve with grated cheese over brown rice, rolled up in tortillas, or as a dip for chips. (If you made a batch of brown rice to store in the freezer for crazy days, this is the perfect time to add a tablespoon of water to it, and microwave until it’s hot.)
Add some guacamole, salad, pea shoots, or any other veggies you like, and it’s a quick, easy, tasty meal that took very little effort on your part.
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Creamy Mexican Chicken
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 mins
Description
A versatile dish that’s easy to make with ingredients on hand
Ingredients
- 2–3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (still frozen)
- 2 14 ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 16 ounce jar HOT salsa
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- grated cheddar cheese for topping
- brown rice and tortilla chips
Instructions
- Put the still-frozen chicken breasts in the slowcooker (if using thawed chicken, cut cooking time by an hour)
- Add rinsed and drained black beans, tomatoes, and salsa
- Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours, or low about 8 hours
- Using a potato masher, break up the chicken until shredded
- Add cream cheese that has been cut into pieces so it melts easier
- Stir well
- Serve over brown rice, in tortillas, or as dip for tortilla chips
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
Did you notice how many times I used the word “crazy”? That must be a sign that my schedule has spun out of control. Here’s to a relaxing evening….
