Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

I never saw the need for a slow cooker. I never registered for one when I got married and I've never bought one. To me, a slow cooker was something you only used to make beef stew, which I detest. However, a dear friend of mine asked if I could come up with some recipes for her slow cooker. And since she is now a proud mama, I think her slow cooker might come in handy a lot in the future. So for her, I borrowed my Mama's slow cooker.

Since it's warmer weather, I decided not to start with a soup or stew. After much scanning of the web, I discovered that one can cook a lot of chicken in the slow cooker and use it for a bunch of recipes. I decided to try cooking chicken breast and then shredding it.

This recipe was AMAZING! The chicken came out tasting like a southwestern rotisserie chicken. It was so moist, it just fell apart. I had no idea such delicious chicken could come from a slow cooker!

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

2 - 3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup favorite Italian dressing (I used Trader Joe's Tuscan Dressing)
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbsp Adobo Seasoning
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

In a bowl or large glass, mix together the dressing, broth and spices.

Place chicken breasts in your slow cooker and pour the dressing mixture over the top of the chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. I cooked it for about 7 hrs.

When chicken is fully cooked, remove from slow cooker and shred.  To shred it, I take two forks and pull them in opposite directions  through the meat. As I said, it will be so moist and tender that it will fall apart.

Okay, so now I am left with 3 lbs of shredded delicious chicken...now what?
The first thing I made with it was Chicken "Tostadas". I also made BBQ chicken sandwiches. I will link both recipes to this one.

The chicken is also fabulous on salads or eaten plain, and it makes a great chicken salad. Add a little mayo, salt, lemon pepper seasoning, scallions and chopped celery.

For the two of us, this recipe made enough chicken for three days of lunches and dinners. I may have to go get myself a slow cooker...we'll see.

Gluten-free and Lactose-free Orange Mango Creamsicle Smoothie

Summer is around the corner and warm weather automatically makes me think that I need to get back to making smoothies. I can't bring myself to drink slushy ice drinks when it's 20 degrees outside, but now I can't get enough of them. Usually I make mine with a blend of frozen berries, frozen mango and fresh spinach with orange juice as a base and sometimes protein powder. I swear that you do not taste the spinach at all and then I feel as if the smoothie is healthy and good for me as well as delicious.

I stumbled upon this great idea for a creamsicle type smoothie and modified it a little. I don't know if it really qualifies as a 'healthy smoothie'. It's certainly healthier then a creamsicle milkshake or a pint of ice cream but on the scale of smoothies, I would classify this as healthy dessert. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's super healthy for you and I'm just completely fooled into thinking it's dessert by how utterly fabulous it tastes. It also makes for a great drink accompaniment to a summery light lunch or dinner. Regardless of what you make it with, it's good.


Orange Mango Creamsicle Smoothie

1 - 1 1/2 cups vanilla coconut milk
1 can orange juice concentrate
1 cup frozen mango pieces
a dash of your chosen sweetener ( i used agave but honey or sugar would work too I'm sure)
a little of your favorite protein powder (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend thoroughly. Serve in pretty glasses. Enjoy. I would say that this probably makes 4 - 8oz servings but let's be honest, you'll drink the entire thing by yourself.

ps. the next day I needed to make this again but I only bought one can of concentrate. so I froze regular orange juice in an ice cube tray and used that instead. It worked just as well. The only difference was that it wasn't as sweet as the first one.