Fabulous Crockpot Chicken

I have never been a fan of boneless, skinless chicken breast. It just doesn’t taste very good, and it’s usually dry besides, unless you undercook it, and then it is just plain gross.

But then I found this recipe, and my attitude toward "boneless, skinless" suddenly changed.

Originally, I got the recipe off "Amy's Humble Musings"--a blog I read sometimes. The first time I made it, I was not wild about it, but I felt that it was worth working with until it worked for me, so here it is, the way I do it now. If you make it, you may need to make your own changes to make it work for your family.

Ingredients:
1. Approximately 5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (one of those big club packs, about 6-8 breasts).
2. 1 tsp. salt
3. 1 tsp. turmeric
4. 1 tsp. oregano
5. 1 tsp granulated garlic (or four cloves fresh, or more, depending on how you like it…)
6. Approximately 1 cup chicken broth (leftover homemade, or made from chicken base, or from a carton from the store) note: I have found that when I do not have chicken broth, I can just use a cup of water and add an additional 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar.

Place half the chicken breast in a largish crockpot. Sprinkle with half the seasonings (including half the fresh garlic, if you use fresh). Top with remaining chicken breasts. Pour chicken broth over, and finish by topping with remaining seasonings.

Turn crockpot on high and leave for three or four hours. Then turn crockpot down to low and continue to cook until very, very well done, probably about three more hours.

When the chicken is very, very done, take a ladle and scoop out most of the broth (not all). Reserve this in a large measuring cup. Then take a large fork (a meat fork from a serving set works well) or kitchen shears and totally shred the chicken in the crockpot, so it looks a little like pulled pork. Add:

7. A few Tablespoonfuls of olive oil, until it is nicely moistened
8. Any additional seasonings (from the list above) that you think it might need, after tasting it. It may not need anything at all. Mine usually doesn’t.

Put the cover back on the crockpot and leave it on low.

Take the reserved broth that you scooped out of the pot, and add enough water to make three cups. Put into a medium-large pan and bring to a boil with:

9. 1 cup salsa
10. 1 and ½ cups long grain white rice.

After it comes to a boil, cover and leave over very low heat for about 20 minutes.

Serve the chicken with the rice, and also salsa, sour cream, avocado slices, and you can even warm up a can of black beans (then drain them) and offer grated cheddar. Let people pile these ingredients on their plates, kind of as if making a salad.

This is a big favorite at our house.

Also the leftovers are fantastic. You can use this chicken in soups, casseroles (substitute anytime they call for cooked, chopped chicken), sandwiches (add mayo to make chicken salad, or put between bread just as-is). It is also very tasty wrapped in a tortilla with romaine, tomatoes and grated cheddar.

I hope you try it and like it!