Going To Pot And Bringing The Family With Me

We're a busy family at this house.  Granted, the bonus daughters are only here half of the time, but when they are, things are moving fast and in several different directions at one time.  The Hubbs is often heading one way taking kids to various activities, while I'm heading another running errands or keeping up with a house that holds five humans and two big dogs (no easy feat).  

That makes dinner time an interesting proposition.  And it also makes my crock pot my best friend.  I love the idea of dumping a bunch of ingredients into a pot, turning it on and a few hours later, out pops dinner.  Back when I was single and tons of time on my hands, I used to make amazing multi-course meals.  These days, I'm just happy to get something on the table that most everyone will eat.  So, crockpotting (I don't know if that's a real term or not, but if not, it is now) is my kind of cooking.   This past weekend we were all heading all over the place AND the weather here in North Carolina was chilly (for us) and grey.  That's perfect crockpotting weather if you ask me.  Yesterday I promised I'd share a new recipe today that I tried on Sunday.  It was a BIG hit (all five humans gave it a thumbs up) and that's share worthy, in my opinion.  
I found the recipe here via Pinterest, but I'll lay it out for you step by step:
Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken
Ingredients: 2 Lbs of boneless chicken breasts (breasts can very by size (stop laughing) so just go by total weight) 1 24 oz jar of salsa (I went with medium heat, since we all like hot stuff here at our house) 1 pkg of taco seasoning (or you can make your own - there are tons of recipes out there for that, like this one) 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice and the zest of one lime 1/4 c cilantro finely chopped
Optional Ad-ins: 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (I opted for this because of the added nutritional value and to make it more "authentic") 1 jalapeño finely chopped (opted in again for this)
Toppings: Any kind of shredded cheese.  For the kids, I used regular shredded cheddar but for me (since I have a cow dairy allergy), I used this product.  It melts like regular mozzarella and can be found at my local Whole Foods.   Additional chopped cilantro
For serving:  Quinoa, rice or tortillas (we used brown rice) and lime wedges

1.  In a slow cooker/crock pot lay your chicken breasts into the cooker and turn it on high.  

2. Mix together the salsa, lime juice and zest, taco seasoning and optional black beans and jalapeño in a bowl and stir well. Add it to the chicken and make sure the chicken is coated on all sides.    

3.  Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours (longer if your chicken breasts were frozen going in) or on low for 6+ hours, until the chicken is falling apart tender.  You can then remove the chicken onto a plate and take two forks to "shred" it before putting it back into the mixture, if you'd like (I did that, since my breasts were still on the bone (STOP laughing)).  

4.  About 15 minutes before serving, I got my Trader Joe's precooked rice out of the freezer and followed the heating directions on it to have it ready to serve.  

5.  When you're ready to serve everything up, stir in the cilantro and then top each plate with the shredded cheese and a lime wedge for squeezing.  You can also add a little cilantro to the top if you'd like, for color.

Serves 8
The kids loved it.  The Hubbs loved it.  I loved twice as much, because it was good, healthy and mostly because no one complained about it.  Plus, I had leftovers to nosh on all week while everyone else was gone (yes, The Hubbs is out of town again).  As a matter of fact, you can probably guess what I'll be having for dinner tomorrow.  And you can too.  
Stop back tomorrow for the dessert recipe that was also a hit Sunday night.  Even after I told the bonus daughters what was really in it.  <insert evil laugh here>  
You're welcome.