Kraft Food & Family Tex Mex Slow Cooker Chicken
Note: This meal can be made as a filling for tortillas, over rice, or as a soup with chips
Ingredients
1 ½ lb boneless chicken, cut into bite-size chunks
2 TB taco seasoning mix, homemade or from a packet
1 red pepper chopped fine
1 ½ cup salsa (This is where the spiciness of the meal comes from, so choose based on your family’s tastes. Red or green salsa both make an excellent choice.)
½ cup chicken broth
1 can black beans
1 pkg frozen corn (without sauces)
1 TB flour, after it is cooked to make a roux to thicken if needed
Tortillas, cooked rice, or tortilla chips
Topping Suggestions
Shredded cheese
Green onions
Sour Cream
Instructions
Add all ingredients except flour. Cover and cook using one of these methods:
- Slow cooker: 6 hours on low
- Dutch oven pot: 1 hr 15 min in 350° oven
- Instant Pot: 28 min on high pressure, 5 minutes natural release
If the sauce is thin, mix a small amount of the sauce with the flour, then add it back into the pot and cook just a bit longer. Keep stirring until thick. (I do this if I am filling tortillas and sometimes I omit even then and just add some sauce over the wrapped tortilla for a “covered” style burrito.)
Top with your favorite toppings.
The Backstory
The original recipe came from Kraft many, many years ago and was meant to be cooked in the slow cooker. It did not include black beans or broth, both of which add more flavor to the recipe in my opinion. Also, the original recipe was meant to be served over cooked rice; my favorite way is for filling and making burritos, covered style.
When the Instant Pot came out, I thought this would make for a perfect, quick meal and researched IP recipes with similar ingredients to determine the cooking time. I also cooked it in the oven when I didn’t have enough time for the slow cooker and before the IP.
If you are using frozen chicken, the crockpot time will remain as I think sometimes 6 hrs is more than enough time. For the oven, add another 10 minutes. For the IP, add 2 minutes. If I used frozen chicken then I will add the flour, just because you have a thinner sauce with frozen chicken. This is a meal that is really hard to overcook. It just works well for all cooking methods and it comes out great every time.
I still cook it all 3 ways to this day. After work, it goes into the IP for a quick meal. On the weekends, into the slow cooker or oven depending on the time available. I still like slow cooking as it just fills the house with a great aroma and creates anticipation for the meal.
This meal is one of a few recipes I have that help me avoid eating out when I don’t want to cook. I always have everything on hand. If I am out of salsa, which has happened once, I used Rotel. This recipe can also be frozen easily for another night or to take to a neighbor.
