Did They Eat It: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

The last two times I've tried to do a Did They Eat It? I've messed up the recipe, not peeling the potatoes before chopping them up for Potato Soup (beige followed) and forgetting that recipes aren't instantly ready for eating once you finish putting everything in the pot.

That chili was really delicious at 10 o'clock at night. (Hint: the kids didn't eat it.)

For this edition I wanted to do something I more than likely wouldn't mess up. I found this recipe at Tasty Kitchen the day before I wanted to make it (key!) and started it in the slow cooker around 9am...just to be certain it was ready.

Put corn in the slow cooker.

Put a can of (drained and rinsed) black beans on top.

Add a pack of taco seasoning (I make my own). I used about 3 tablespoons for this recipe, we like a lot of spice, and could have used more but that's all I had left already made.

Dump it on top.

Lay three boneless, skinless chicken breasts on top. They should even be frozen which is like a dream come true since "defrosting meat I'd like to cook with" is right up there with "remember to get hair cut every 8 weeks". Something I just can't get the hang of.

Next dump some salsa on top, Logan is a fan of this kind.

Do you see how easy this is, look at these extraneous photographs I have to show you in order to make this a post!

Put the top on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken and mix everything up, keeping warm until you're ready to serve.

And here they are with a side of rice.

Did They Eat It?

Logan: "I Love These. No really I love them. I want to have them a lot." He almost looked like a starving refugee when he said this. Which means he did like this but my God, it's not like we've been starving here. Waiting 8 hours for your dinner to be on the table NEVER KILLED ANYONE!

Max: "These are pretty good, will I be able to see corn in my poo tomorrow?" Something about tacos perplexes Max. Every time he takes a bite he sort of looks around incredulous that the shell cracked again. Like, "This Taco Clearly Has It Out For Me." And that's true, but don't tell him.

Madison: "Look. I finally got used to the idea of plain old hamburger meat inside a tortilla chip shell and now you pull this crap out at me? Thanks for nothing. Jerks." She didn't starve that night, I call that a success!

Me: I loved how easy this meal was. I would have had to try to mess it up (not that I COULDN'T!). I've been feeling a little, you know, stupid with all these cooking mishaps. This was a nice ego boost right before we tackled our Thanksgiving Feast. If I changed anything I'd add more salt and spice and maybe cut the corn back a bit. Not because of the bathroom thing Max mentioned but because it just tastes too sweet for my palate.

You can find the entire recipe here.

Comments

[Amanda]

We make something similar, but instead of tacos we eat it over rice, or with tortilla chips. Really really hard to screw up! And so delicious.

[Allison]

This looks DELICIOUS! Will be adding it to my recipes to try file. I always love your Did They Eat It? posts.

[Laura]

We call it salsa chicken and it's a favorite here.
If you're feeling particularly daring, you can cube up some cream cheese and at it in the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

[Nichole]

That looks terrific. I think we'll try these! I love the Did They Eat It posts, too.

[Heather]

Totally trying these! Thanks for sharing.

[Cara]

Funny, I'm eating almost the same thing tonight only it's in stew/soup form instead of tacos. It's basically everything you've got here plus a chopped onion, a can of kidney beans and an 8oz. can of tomato sauce. Then throw some cheese and/or sour cream on top of each serving. LOVE cooking in my crockpot!

[Adrienne]

See, it's recipes like this that make me wish I had a slow cooker.

[mp]

This looks right up my alley - wish I'd read this sooner so I could make them tonight. Tomorrow it is!

[Bethany]

My engineer husband and our youngest daughter hate crispy taco shells for all the breakage. My husband finally started breaking them in half first (if you can't beat 'em...), and piling the ingredients horizontally...a smear of refried beans on one half, then meat, cheese, etc. like an open-faced taco sandwich. Then he plops the other half-shell on top and somehow it doesn't break when he eats it. Also, all the goodies are in every bite. I always forget to do this and end up frustrated, but if you have a better short-term memory than I do (e.g. if you can remember something for more than 4 nanoseconds), maybe this would help solve Max's appropriate taco-shell skepticism.

[Pants]

I try to be extra encouraging when no onions are involved in the recipes.

[Vanessa]

We make this too! Everyone loves it at our place. I add a can of green chilies for a little extra "zing", and we serve it over corn chips and cheese- a solution for max's taco shell issue :)

[Wayne]

My wife is making this tonight -- thanks!

[Dodi]

Can't wait to try this out...thanks!

[amanda]

I make this combonation but put it flour tortillas and roll up wth some monterey jack cheese and cheddar. Top with more salsa and cheese, bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

[Christa]

We love this recipe, but make it with the chicken cubed and eat it over rice. A couple of hints for breaking taco shells, though - 1) toast your taco shells first! then they just snap cleanly with each bite and don't crumble and make a mess. I do 350 for 3-4 minutes. 2) Do like the Mexicans do - wrap a soft corn tortilla around the taco shell, it keeps it all in!

[Kim]

I have been trying to do more slow cooker meals this fall. I am a horrible dinner time decision maker and with working full time, dinner can be a disaster. So nice to come home to dinner already done. Thanks for the idea! I have this one ready to go for tomorrow.

[Maureen]

Thank you so much for this recipe! I read your post yesterday, checked my kitchen and I had all the ingredients, so it all went in the slow-cooker and I was done! The only thing we did different was just serve it over rice instead of in taco shells (my kids have problems with managing the shells). Everyone loved it.

[amy]

Going to throw this in the crock pot tomorrow morning, thank you. But instead of black beans (which I do not have on hand) going to throw a can of mixed beans in. Love crock pot recipes.

[amy]

What kind of rice is that? Looks yummy.. Recipe please?

[melissa in NY]

Just assembled the din in my crock pot, only I'm using a london broil that was in my freezer a bit too long....we'll see if it works well for beef!

[Katie]

Thanks! Had chicken (already defrosted, boo!) in the fridge. Had everything else on hand. Usually not a crock pot fan... we'll see how this goes tonight!

[tuesy]

I have this going in my slow cooker right now, and if it tastes even half as good as it smells we are in for a fantastic supper.

Thanks!

[Lena]

This seemed to simple for my taste. Yet...I made this last night and it was, as my husband and daughter said, AWESOME.

Thanks! Yay for recipes that allow me to sit on my ass longer!

[suburbangranola]

So we were on vacation and since we have a bazillion kids (really just 5)it costs us a fortune to eat every meal out so we rented a condo with a kitchen to help save some dough. You know, so we could do some fun stuff instead of eating through our money...literally..But being on vacation I didn't really want to cook. I brought my crock pot and made this recipe. It was great! Thanks for posting it.

[suburbangranola]

So we were on vacation and since we have a bazillion kids (really just 5)it costs us a fortune to eat every meal out so we rented a condo with a kitchen to help save some dough. You know, so we could do some fun stuff instead of eating through our money...literally..But being on vacation I didn't really want to cook. I brought my crock pot and made this recipe. It was great! Thanks for posting it.

[Kim]

This turned out awesome! We love it!

[Kim]

This turned out awesome! We love it!

[Laziza]

Thank you for posting this. I just made it yesterday, and it was delicious and SO EASY.

[Ann]

Made this the other day, love, loved it! Will definitely make again. I shared this recipe with many friends.

Kids did not go near it. The middle one is my picky-pickerson and he brings the other two down. So, how do you deal with the pickiness? Do you offer another option, or is it a take it or leave it kind of situation? My kids are 8, 6, and 3 and I'm starting to freak out that I'm catering too much to their limited tastes. But I was picky as a kid, too, and I remember how awful it was to have to try things that I really didn't want to. I'd love some insight!!!

[Kathi]

Thanks for posting this. I made it and everyone LOVED it. Husband, daughter (4) and son (just turned 1)! (It was great watching my son shovel it into his mouth, fistful by fistful. He couldn't get enough) It will definitely be a repeat dinner in our household.

[Mary]

Made this today and we loved it. It made a ton so I called my sister and had her come get dinner for her & her husband, too. we loved it. Thanks!

[Mary]

Did you get that we loved it?

[Nancy]

I could not believe how easy this was and my 11 and 13 year old both loved it! Thank you.

[Sally]

I make this and the last time I did I added a can of Cream of Chicken soup and did not drain the beans. It made a wonderful CHicken Torilla Soup - served it with Taco Chips and/or warmed flour tortillas.

[Tadaa]

Did they outlaw the use of a question mark up there in suburbia?

[Caryn]

This was so easy! I told 4 girls at work around it and we all tried it out on our families. Big success! Thanks.

[Sara]

This is one of my favorite recipes! We use it in burritos, on top of nachos, on top of salad, on and on. So versatile and it freezes well too!

[Amy]

My husband is totally thrilled that he might actually have dinner tonite. Thanks for the recipe :)

[Dawn]

Melissa, I just had to come back to this post and thank you so much for this recipe! Such an easy crockpot recipe, and totally delicious. We have made it 3 times since you posted, including once doubling the recipe to serve at a football party, which was a huge hit. Also, this renewed my interest in crockpot recipes, especially for the winter, so thank you for that as well!

[Melissa Summers]

That is so awesome!

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[mar]

I'm late to the party, but this has been on my "to try" list since I saw it - made it yesterday, it was delicious! I have a humongous crock pot, so I doubled the recipe - half my chicken was frozen, half wasn't, I used 1 jar of taco sauce and 1 jar of salsa (it's what I had on hand), and one envelope of taco seasoning and one batch of homemade (again, on hand) - it was delicious! We used tortillas (my kids prefer soft tacos - maybe that's the answer to Max's dilemma?) and it was yummy, with lots of left overs. My youngest was not thrilled about the black beans, and I think I'll have to wrestle her a bit to get her to eat it again, but with enough lettuce, cheese and olives on it, I should be able to do it! Thanks for this one!

[ladykay]

We made taco salad with this tonight. Absolutely delish!

[mamorrell]

I just want to tell you that this has become "THE" goto meal for when you take a meal to someone, ie. a new baby, surgery, etc. It has now gone to four families and gotten nothing but rave reviews. The only difference is I spoon it from the crockpot into an 8x8 pan, sprinkle with shredded mexican cheese, and take over as more of a casserole. Include chopped tomatoes, lettuce, some sour cream, more shredded cheese, and taco shells, and you are gold! Plus I always leave enough left in the crockpot for my family to eat. I love love this - Thank You!