Recipe: Creamy Crock-Pot Tex-Mex Chicken

Hamilton Beach
"Stay or Go" Slow Cooker

This may be the easiest dinner I've ever made. I hate when I find crock-pot recipes that require a lot of prep work, like chopping (and cooking!). I mean, isn't the point of crock-pots to make your life easier by making you cook LESS? So when I find a dump and go recipe, I'm much more apt to try it. This one is super simple.

Husband rating: 4 out of  5 stars
Kiddo rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Wife rating: 4 out of 5 stars (I want it spicier!)

I should start by saying that this recipe takes 6-8 hours in the crock-pot, so get this one going first thing, before work or school. We have a six quart Hamilton Beach "Stay or Go" Slow Cooker that we got from our friends for our wedding. (Thanks Robin and Ruben!) It's a fantastic slow cooker if you're looking for one. It latches the lid on so it's leak proof if you're taking it to and from functions! If you have a different size though, you might consider adjusting the amounts of chicken, in particular, but possibly the other ingredients as well.

Dump chicken in the bottom
of the crock-pot.

All that being said, here's what you'll need:

1 bag (2.5-3lbs) of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can yellow corn (drained)
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can of rotel
1 brick of cream cheese

There are a couple options when it comes to the ingredients. I can't stand corn so I used hominy instead. I know lots of people don't like hominy though so it's totally up to you. Also, if you're not a black bean fan, use pinto beans instead. Either choice keeps with the Tex-Mex flair. The spiciness of the rotel is up to you as well. We have a kiddo around here so I went with the mild option but be brave and try the hot! If you're counting calories, feel free to use a low-fat cream cheese but do NOT use a fat-free. It will mess with the consistency of the final product.

Add in beans, corn, rotel and cream cheese.

So here's what you do: dump the bag of chicken into the pot. My bag was a 3lb bag but it was a LOT of chicken and there's only three of us here. So I used enough to cover the bottom of the crock-pot and had about 3 breasts left over. I'd say I used approximately 2.5 pounds of chicken. Then dump in the can of (drained) corn, (rinsed and drained) black beans, rotel and cream cheese. Make sure you drain the beans and corn really well. The dinner is soupy enough as it is and if you don't drain them, you really will be eating Tex-Mex Chicken Soup! Don't worry about everything being in separate piles. You'll stir it all together later.

Put the lid on and let cook for 5-6 hours.

Turn the crock-pot on low, put the lid on and let cook for about 5-6 hours. About every two hours, go in and give it a little stir. As the cream cheese begins to heat and the chicken begins to thaw, it becomes easier to stir it all together. Fair warning, the cream cheese will look chunky and curdled for a little while until it gets completely melted in. Don't worry like I did. It will get better!

Shred the chicken with two forks.

At the 5-6 hour mark, everything should be well stirred in and your house ought to be smelling amazing. (Who needs air fresheners when you have Tex-Mex cooking?) At this point for the last hour to two hours, I turned the crock-pot up to high to get it good and bubbly to make the sauce thicken some (remove the lid if needed). Check on it every once in a while and when it comes to the consistency you're looking for, you're ready to go! It will thicken a little once you serve it and it starts to cool, so keep that in mind. I like to shred the chicken when it's done to make it a little easier to serve. Just use two forks and pull the chicken breasts into shredded pieces.

Serve over white or brown rice and enjoy!