I first tried something similar to this dish a couple of years ago.  A friend of mine had shared her recipe with me for a Crockpot Chicken & Salsa.  The chicken cooks for hours in the crockpot, in Salsa Verde and it gets nice and tender.  Salsa Verde (a.k.a. Green Sauce) is very common in Mexican cuisine.  This type of salsa is typically pureed using cooked or sometimes raw tomatillos, jalapeños or other chili peppers.  It also has onion, cilantro and sometimes lime mixed in.  They are a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine.  They are considered to be a fruit and they are surrounded by a paper-like husk that is inedible.  When removed from the husk they are green in color and have a tart flavor.

Some Salsa Verdes are quite spicy; I have seen it ranging from mild to hot.  In Mexican cuisine, this sauce is usually served cold (as a dip) with tortilla chips.  It is also used frequently in tacos with pork or fish.  It has bold flavors and on its own it can be quite spicy.

As I do with any recipe that I try or someone shares with me, I tweak it to make it my own.  With this Crockpot recipe, I played around with the spices and also added some of my favorite ingredients that I like to use quite often in our Mexican dishes.  There are a few ingredients that are staples in my pantry, like Hunt’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes and a newer staple which is diced green chiles.   My family loves Mexican cuisine so it is great to keep ingredients on hand that we incorporate into our dishes quite often.  To elevate the flavor even further, I also sautéed some peppers and onions with fresh garlic and added that to the chicken.

I placed the chicken into the crockpot, set it to high heat and let it slow cook for hours.  The chicken turned out very tender, it didn’t take any effort to shred the chicken.  It practically shredded itself.   The sauce that it cooked in all day was bursting with rich and slightly spicy flavors.  You can easily adjust the heat in this dish by using a milder Salsa Verde or omitting the diced chiles.  But if you can stand a little spice, these ingredients sure deliver big & bold flavors.  My kids are not big fans of spicy food so I am careful not to make our meals too hot for them.  It was quite funny, as my kids were eating their fajitas they kept telling me that they were a little spicy.   They kept filling up their glass with more milk to drink.   They must have loved them so much because they didn’t stop eating them.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Makes approx. 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

6 Chicken Breasts, boneless

2+ Tablespoons, Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon, Butter

1, White or Yellow Onion, sliced

1 Red Pepper, seeded & sliced

3 Cloves, Fresh Garlic, minced

1 Jar (17.6 oz.), Salsa Verde

1 Can (14.5 oz.), Fire Roasted Tomatoes

3+ Cups, Chicken Broth, low-sodium

1 Can (7 oz.), Diced Chiles

1 Teaspoon, ground Cumin

1 Teaspoon, Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon, Onion Powder

1 Teaspoon, Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon, Paprika

1 Teaspoon, Kosher Salt

1 Teaspoon, Dry Parsley

1 Teaspoon, Dry Oregano

Big pinch of Fresh Cracked, Black Pepper

3 Tablespoons, Fresh Cilantro, rough chopped

1 Package, Tortilla Wraps *(used White Corn Tortillas in this recipe)

Instructions

Turn Crockpot to high heat.  Spray crockpot with cooking spray.  Add a drizzle of Olive Oil (about 1 Tablespoon) to the bottom of the crockpot.  Add the chicken, fire roasted tomatoes, diced chiles, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, S&P, dry parsley and dry oregano to the crockpot and stir.

Crockpot Chicken Fajita

Place a skillet on the stove over medium high heat.  Add about 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter to the pan and heat through.  Add the sliced peppers and onions and cook for about 5 minutes.  Season with S&P, add a few tablespoons of chicken broth and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.  Add the fresh minced garlic and cook for another minute or so.  Transfer mixture to the crockpot and stir into the chicken.

Cooking times: 

• Cook on high heat for approx. 5-6 hours
• Cook on low heat for approx. 6-8 hours

Remove chicken after about 5 hours, transfer to a board and using 2 forks, shred the chicken.  Return the shredded chicken to the Crockpot and continue cooking for about another 30 minutes.

Shredded Chicken

Heat some tortilla wraps.  I like to heat my tortillas on a grill or directly over my stove (I have a gas stove).  You can also cover them in foil and bake to heat through.  If grilling or heating on the stove, just cook them for about 20-30 seconds per side.  Transfer them to a tortilla warmer or wrap them in foil to keep them warm and pliable.

Crockpot Chicken Fajita

Top each tortilla wrap with the chicken, peppers and onions and add some of the sauce from the crockpot.  Add your favorite toppings.

Mangia! Enjoy!

Optional Toppings

• Lettuce
• Salsa (or use the sauce that cooked in Crockpot)
• Shredded Cheese (Cheddar, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack or any kind you like)
• Sautéed Peppers & Onions *(you can use the ones that cooked in Crockpot)
• Rice
• Beans
• Sour Cream
• Guacamole
• Lime Juice/Lime Wedges
• Corn