Crockpot Green Chili Chicken Shreds

I cook too much. My brain gets addled and I forget what I have told you about and what I have never featured. I would have promised you that I had the Green Chili Chicken recipe in one of my newsletters. Maybe I did, but now I can't find it. If I wrote it and can't find it, then you may not be able to either! I will try it here instead---or in addition to--who knows? I have a lot of recipes in my head...and in several computers.

The photo above is actually my Chipotle Chicken Shreds, a very similar Freezer Favorite recipe from the e-book. Honestly, I was too busy prepping chicken this last weekend to bother with photography. Either recipe can serve as a Freezer Favorite--where you use the crock pot to cook up a batch, eat some and freeze the rest for later meals, or as a Triple Play meal where the entire batch goes into different meals the same week without being frozen. The choice is yours because this way of preparing chicken is very versatile.

This dish is also a cousin to the Tequila Chicken, a Triple Play meal which is baked and cut into chunks rather than shredded, and has a wonderful flavor thanks to the tequila. I have been out of tequila for a while now, but this is just as good. Just about any of the follow up recipe suggestions would work with any of these three recipes, however, so use what you have on hand or most appeals to your tastes. You might say these three chicken recipes are sisters--not identical triplets, but a strong family resemblance none the less.

The Green Chili Chicken does not have the bite of either of the other two recipes. Without the tequila flavor or the Chipotle flavor, the green chilies shine through. Not that it is without heat, however. The jalapeño salt delivers there. You could leave it out if you don't keep it handy at all times like I do!

For a Freezer Favorite or a Triple Play Meal:

Green Chili Chicken Shreds

3-4 pounds chicken breast, boneless and skinless
1 can chicken broth
1 teaspoon jalapeño salt
6 cubes of canned green chilies (approximately three small cans)
1 Tablespoon lime juice

Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low until chicken shreds easily with a fork. Drain most of the broth, (reserve for soup later) and shred chicken with two forks.

This can be a little pricey if you don't use the method of buying institutional sized cans of green chilies like I do. I open a large can and freeze ice cube sized portions of chilies. That saves so much money. I can't believe how much the stores charge for those tiny green chili cans! If you buy like me, you can add even more chilies.

This is wonderful on a salad, or as an omelet filling. It makes great soft chicken tacos or burritos for those of you who can eat low carb tortillas or lavash bread. The meat can be added back to reserved broth along with some canned tomatoes and other assorted veggies for a fantastic soup. It really is versatile and easy to put together. If low carb nacho chips weren't so difficult, this chicken would make the best nachos ever. They also make superb Mexican Bowls, layered with caulirice, cheese, peppers and onions, salsa, and perhaps black soybeans.

Green Chili Chicken shreds are so easy. It is embarrassing to offer them up as a recipe. Sometimes the simplest things are the best.