Slow Cooked

Part 2

Woweeeee! That was quite a break! I’m sorry it has taken me so long to finish my three part Slow Cooked series. After my first post, a terrible thing happened, I got covid! Yup. Um, I’m sure y’all are aware, but it can really really really suck for some people and as it turns out, I’m one of those people! Brain fog and fatigue are a pain in the ass and this is my first week feeling like I’m coming out of the haze (two weeks now since testing negative). HENCE, let’s get back to talking about yummy slow cooker cooking.

I filmed the video of Lou reviewing this posts recipe right after eating dinner. He had obviously just cut up a watermelon, the watermelon is not related to this recipe, it’s just there.

Here is the link for the recipe

Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Jalapeño Avocado Crema

Quick recap- I made three crockpot recipes three days in a row all by recipe developer Tieghan Gerard (who goes by Half Baked Harvest on Instagram etc)

I’m new to the world of baking my tacos. Typically I serve them with warmed tortillas or crispy taco shells, but never filled with topping THEN baked. I was worried this would make the chicken too dry, but I was willing to try. I cooked mine with chicken breast which I find can get dry and gross quick. But that is what I had on hand, so that’s what I used. This recipe also opened me up to the idea of cooking the chicken in enchilada sauce in the crockpot. When I make enchiladas I shred rotisserie chicken, roll it up in tortillas with cheese and I pour the enchilada sauce over all of it and bake. This using the enchilada sauce to cook the chicken in was new to me and I’m glad to know it now! It’s a good thing to do. I was worried adding the chipotle peppers would make it too spicy for the kids (it wasn’t) but I wanted to stick to the recipe as close as possible.

Another new discovery for me with this recipe was pickled jalapeños. I didn’t even know if our local grocery store would have them, but to my delight, they did! And now I shall always have them in my pantry because they are really good in homemade guacamole or avocado crema as this recipe called it. They are not spicy, just tangy, complimenting the avocado and lime.

This is kind of like, kid food or easy party food or a simple dinner. The chicken was not spicy at all, baking the tacos with cheese in the oven made them crunchy, cheesy and thankfully not dry, served with the avocado crema…it’s a darn good meal! The kids really liked them! Lou seems a little lackluster in his video review but the next morning we reheated the leftover tacos and ate them for breakfast. Lou was much more enthusiastic then. Saying things like, “actually these are pretty good!” while wolfing them down. Yes, they were pretty good! I’m gonna make them again and this time try cooking them in the green enchilada sauce.

Thanks for reading and I hope you give them a try! Tieghan Gerard has so many delicious recipes on her website, check it out. (She’s not paying me to write this, we don’t know each other! I just like her recipes, in case you were wondering)