Chicken Chili Verde

I can't tell you how this tastes with the dish fully completed as I forgot the garnish. Yes, I had the sour cream, cilantro and the cheese all ready but just forgot to put it on the finished dish. Mr. L and I got home to the most wonderful smells coming from the slow cooker. I never bothered to look at the recipe before plating, I just opened up  that slow cooker and dished out dinner (did I mention we didn't even bother to cook veggies or a side dish to eat with this?).

The smell was so good that I also almost forgot to shred the chicken into the sauce once I'd served it, something you really want to do. As you can see, I even photographed the chicken before I shredded it. Did I mention it smelled so good we just wanted to dig in? Okay, I'll even admit we had started eating it before I remembered the shredding. If you just eat the chicken whole, it's kinda dry, but once you shred it and mix it with the sauce it's pretty good. And I'm sure adding the sour cream and cheese will help. If you use hot green salsa (which I did) the dish can get pretty spicy. For those that don't want the spice, use mild salsa but do add the jalapenos for a bit of  bite.

I did have a problem with the "chicken bouillon" as I put the two teaspoons on the top as directed but when I went to take the dish out of the slow cooker they hadn't dissolved. It was just kind  of a blob on top of the chicken. I scraped the bouillon stuff off and mixed it with the salsa sauce before serving.

I'd definitely make this again, just for the wonderful smell alone! Of course I'm curious as to how it tastes with the garnishes.

This was supposed to be low carb, but I can totally see putting this in taco shells or tortillas or serving over noodles!

The recipe came from the 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipe book.

CHICKEN CHILI VERDE

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups prepared salsa verde
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic crushed
1-2 tablespoons jarred, sliced jalapeno (2 can make it hot)
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon concentrate
Guar or xanthan (optional)
Sour Cream
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro (2 tablespoons makes the chili hot)

Place the chicken in your slow cooker and add the salsa verde, onion, bay leaf, pepper, cumin, garlic, jalapenos, and bouillon on top. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 9 to 10 hours.

When the time's up, shred the chicken with a fork. Stir it up, thicken the chili a little with the guar or xanthan if you think it needs it, and serve with sour cream, cheese, and cilantro on top.

Serves 5; 190 calories each (analysis does not include garnishes)

Note: I used organic chicken, hot salsa verde, crushed garlic. I did not use the guar or xanthan. I completely forgot the garnishes.

Note: I used the two jalapenos and the hot salsa and even though it was spicy, it was a good spicy. Mr. L doesn't like things as hot as I do but he didn't find it too hot. I'm sure the sour cream and cheese would cut the spice if needed.

Comments

[Jan]

Yum, I am going to try this. I make something very similar that would be great if you are looking for something quick. Top chicken breasts with salsa of choice. Bake in the oven. I do the same thing with fish.

[grace]

my oh my, mrs l, this is fantastic. this might just be my favorite way to manhandle chicken. i'm quite familiar with the aroma, and i can vouch for its irresistibility. :)

[NotSoccer Mom]

with the heat yesterday, i'm surprised the garnishes weren't the only things you forgot! i couldn't even face the idea of going to my hot home until almost 9:00; it was still 89 degrees INSIDE.

[Emiline]

Mmm, I love these flavors together. I've been on a real Mexican kick, lately.

[Kathie R]

Sounds yummy!! Laughing over your forgetting the garnish...that is something I would have done in the rush to eat. ;-) Glad you are back to your "cooking" self and feeling better.

[noble pig]

Oh my, that looks absolutely divine. I love the idea of it in the slow cooker, it's auch a great way to make things.