Oh my goodness, this week completely got away from me. I cannot believe it is Friday already! That seems to always happen to me when there is a Monday holiday. Mondays are kind of my 'reboot' day after the weekend where I get back into my routine of laundry, housework, meal planning, etc. And as much as I love spending extra down time with my family on Monday holidays, they nevertheless seem to throw the rest of the week out of whack.
I have actually been very productive this week, which will account for my whereabouts, since I obviously have been now where near this blog! On Monday we threw a spur-of-the-moment Labor Day party and ended up serving 2 dozen grilled burgers to our family and neighbors. In doing this I have discovered a deep passion of mine: Serving food to hungry children. Whether they are chronically hungry due to poverty, or have just worked up a big appetite playing in the sprinklers (we had both types at our party!), there are few things in this world that have brought me as much joy as helping fill a hungry child's tummy. I have to find ways to do this more often! Although we didn't invite anyone over til around 11:30am, we ended up with 19 children (plus adults) in our backyard over the course of the next 4 hours. It was hectic, exhausting, and heavenly!
Later that night, we went out as a family to pick up a lens for my new camera. This is another reason I have been so scarce this week. My old cameras finally gave out altogether, the camera I was borrowing from Donnie's ministry is in the shop, and the new camera and lens we found off CraigsList is just complicated enough that I have to take 6-7 pictures of everything before I get one that I like. Oh well, I'll get better at it I'm sure.
The rest of this week has been playing catch-up, working on a couple projects, and some really good thrift store shopping. As soon as I get some good pictures of them, I have to show you what I've done for Ethan's curtains! Yes, I actually started them. And they are turning out adorable.
But here I am going on and on about whatever, when you really just clicked on this post to find out about some chicken tacos, right? Sorry to be so wordy--I guess I just missed you this week. But, I won't make you wait any longer.
If you like feeding hungry children as much as I do, you must have this recipe in your repertoire. It is so easy I can make it in my sleep! I try to have the ingredients in my house at all times, because as easy as it is, it is equally delicious, and my kids also love it! That is the trifecta of recipe criteria right there.
To make these chicken tacos, you only need three ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts, thawed
2 cups salsa
1 packet chicken taco seasoning
That's it!
To accompany, you might also want to have:
tortillas or taco shells
re-fried beans (I always go for the fat free)
grilled onions and bell peppers (this is my favorite addition)
sour cream
shredded cheese
These take 4-6 hours in the crock pot, so I defrost my chicken in the fridge overnight. Around lunchtime, rinse the chicken and cut off those gross white globs of fat. Those will liquefy and turn sludgy in the crock pot. Nobody needs that.
Next, set the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle the seasoning packet over the chicken, and pour the salsa on top of that. Set your crock pot on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours.
About 30 minutes before dinner, take out the chicken and shred it with a fork. It should be very easy to do. When it's all shredded, put the chicken back in the crock pot to mix with all the salsa and seasoning. Set the crock pot to "low" or "warm" until it's ready to serve.
This is when I put the onions and peppers in the skillet to grill, heat up the beans and tortillas, and set the table. By the time this is all done, the chicken is perfect. Serve it with tongs or a slotted spoon.
I'm pretty sure this is my kids' favorite homemade meal. It might be mine, too. I'm fairly obsessed with the shredded chicken tacos at Taco Cabana (a local fast food chain), and these are very close in flavor. They cost way less, too.
::
Sorry about the lack of pictures on this one. I took tons, but I didn't want to put them on here. The photos themselves were okay, but raw chicken is just very very ugly.
::
Don't forget to pin this recipe for later, or share it with a friend! Because who doesn't need another never-miss dinner idea?
Thanks for stopping by!
XOXO, Anna
