Home ยป Recipe Repeat: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos {+ Homemade Taco Seasoning}

Recipe Repeat: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos {+ Homemade Taco Seasoning}

crockpotchickentacos1

Friday, hello. I’m so glad you’re here. This week wasn’t supposed to be brutal, but…it kinda was.

Wednesday morning, Debbie and I (office mates) looked at one another and forewarned each other that we were in bad moods. “Oh no, that means we’re going to butt heads at some point today…” she said. This may have been the case, but in the 8 months I have been in my role, I’ve learned a lot about Debbie and when to press and when not to. When your office is the size of a small jail cell, you get to know people pretty darn well. And lucky, I really, really, REALLY like Debbie.

The point where the week hit an serious low? When I was prepping for my diabetes cooking class on Wednesday at 1:30pm (class started at 2). As I was unpacking all the shelf-stable groceries I had purchased on Monday, I found my deli sliced corned beneath my plastic forks, spoons, and napkins.

Youhavegottobekiddingme.

crockpotchickentacos2

Panicked, I called Debbie — she’s my right-hand gal for everything word-related.

The conversation went something like this:

“Debbie, you won’t believe what I did. I didn’t unpack the corned beef and it has been sitting out on the counter since Monday….morning. Will you pretty please run to the store to get another pound of thick-sliced corned beef from the deli?”

“Sure, no problem…I’ll be right there.” she said.

Just a few minutes later, she was there with the corned beef. Saving the day…for the first time.

crockpotchickentacos3

My class went well and the corned beef and cabbage soup was delicious. Right at 4pm, my class was ending and in walks Debbie.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, surprised to see her (the demo kitchen is across the street from the hospital).

“Yes, I came to help you clean up so you could make it to your boot camp class at 4:30.” she said.

I just shook my head and said, “What did I do to deserve you?”

She blushed a little and I brought her flowers the next day. Carnations, her favorite 🙂

If you remember to turn on your crock pot (lord knows I’ve made that mistake, too!), you’re guaranteed a delicious taco meal with this one. This taco meat is great on salads, in casseroles, in quesadillas, on sandwiches…you name it. Enjoy!

crockpotchickentacos4

[print_this]

Homemade Taco Seasoning from Sweet Life Kitchen as seen on Bean Town Baker

3 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried onion flakes
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp black pepper

Directions:

Mix it all together! The mix can be stored in an airtight container for up to a year! 2 1/2 tablespoons = 1 store-bought packet.

 

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos from Sweet Life Kitchen as seen on Bean Town Baker

2 1/2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix (recipe above) or 1 packet of store-bought
15 oz low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 5 ounces each)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce + 2 Tbsp adobo sauce

Directions:

In a large bowl or measuring cup pour the chicken broth in, and use a fork to whisk in the taco seasoning mixture.

Spray the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Open the diced tomato can and pour all contents over the bottom of the slow cooker. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the tomatoes and pour the broth, seasoning, and adobo peppers and sauce over that. Cover and cook on low for 6-10 hours. The chicken should fork apart easily in the crock pot. Serve.

Yield: 5 servings (4-ounces each).

Nutrition Information (per serving): 146 calories; 2.8 g. fat; 65 mg. sodium; 460 mg. sodium; 5.8 g. carbohydrate; 1.6 g. fiber; 24.2 g. protein

Result: This taco meat is moist, spicy, and packed with adobo flavor. If you don’t care for adobo or spicy, cut back or omit the chipotles in adobo. I appreciate that the chicken can cook for long periods of time, but I do think 6-7 is the best length of time for chicken in the crock pot. Mr. Prevention always enjoys chicken tacos and this one is a repeater in our kitchen fairly often. 🙂

[/print_this]

TGIF! Loving the Big 10 tournament!

Be well,

sig4

Share With Your Friends!

18 Comments

  1. The Candid RD
    March 15, 2013 / 7:36 am

    How nice of Debbie!!! I’ve definitely done that before, but the opposite. I once put string cheese in the freezer with my frozen veg, forgetting to take them out of the bag. I thought they’d be ruined, but they thawed just fine.
    You’re lucky you have an amazing co-worker!! That makes such a difference in quality of work life.

    Enjoy your weekend Nicole. P.S I had a ROUGH week too, but I had an intern to do my dirty work most of the time. MUAHAHA

  2. Anele @ Success Along the Weigh
    March 15, 2013 / 7:38 am

    Oh man, there’s nothing worse than finding something that was supposed to be refrigerated days after the fact. That happened when something rolled out of our bag in the trunk and a week later I got in the Mr’s car and it stunk like h*ll. I looked in the trunk and we found whatever it was. (It was a few years ago so the item didn’t get stored in the memory bank)

    These chicken tacos look awesome!! YUM!!!

  3. Biz
    March 15, 2013 / 10:24 am

    I could eat tacos every day and never get sick of them! I thought of you last night when I saw the score of the Illini basketball game – that was a close call!

  4. Barb
    March 15, 2013 / 2:04 pm

    What does the nutritional info refer to? The seasoning AND the chicken? I wasn’t sure because the 65mg sodium seemed low? Thanks!

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      March 15, 2013 / 7:39 pm

      Hi Barb – it does seem a little low. The seasoning recipe makes about 2 to 2 1/2 “packets” of seasoning and the chicken, if natural, shouldn’t have added salt. Because you cook the chicken in the broth with the seasoning, not much of the salt is absorbed. It’s a rough guesstimate, but I don’t think it’s too off base. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. cwaltz
    March 15, 2013 / 5:34 pm

    I am totally going to have to give this a try. The kids did not like my last attempt at homemade seasoning but I’d love to find something that doesn’t have weird stuff to prevent caking or what not.

  6. Dara @How_to_eat
    March 16, 2013 / 10:32 am

    I LOVE tacos but surprisingly have never made chicken tacos before…if you can believe that! Can’t wait to try this recipe!

  7. Danielle B
    March 30, 2013 / 8:12 am

    Is it okay if the chicken is frozen?

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      March 30, 2013 / 9:22 am

      Yep! ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. Kate
    April 22, 2013 / 5:40 pm

    Does the chicken refrigerate/reheat the next day well? Assuming it would reheat in microwave?

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      April 22, 2013 / 11:37 pm

      It does…just zap it in the microwave!

  9. Dan
    June 10, 2013 / 11:59 pm

    This recipe has way too much pepper in it and you want us to add chipotle peppers to it as well? This recipe needs a warning label….It is like eating a 4 alarm fire!

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      June 11, 2013 / 6:52 am

      The meat is cooked in the heat, but I wouldn’t say it’s overly spicy once you shred and remove from the crock pot. But, yes chipotles are spicy…love them!

  10. Pingback: crock pot no carb recipes
  11. Amanda
    September 29, 2013 / 12:58 pm

    Tried em!! LOVED em!!

  12. Pingback: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos | Adventures of a Jayhawk Mommy
  13. Pingback: 5th Annual Chili Contest: Entry #3 – Vegetarian Quinoa Chili + Weekly Menu
  14. Pingback: 5th Annual Chili Contest: Entry #3 โ€“ Vegetarian Quinoa Chili + Weekly Menu

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get my newest recipes
Follow Me