Chicken Taco Bowls

We like all kinds of tacos, burritos, rice bowls, and quesadillas. To keep things interesting, we are always looking for new, quick filling ideas. With a hectic work, school, and activity schedule, a slow cooker filling would provide a quick dinner at whatever time everyone got home to eat.

A quick inspection of the freezer yielded three pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Once defrosted, they were seasoned with Penzy's Chicken Taco seasoning. As I've mentioned, we love Penzy's. Whether I visit the retail store about an hour away or order online, I always find high-quality, interesting seasoning mixes to try. There have been few that have not made the regular rotation in my kitchen. The Chicken Taco is one of our favorites. I now buy it by the bag for a big jar instead of the little sampler sizes. It works great mixed with some rotisserie chicken for a quick taco filling or as seasoning for chicken fajitas. It is also a great seasoning for carnitas, other pork and vegetables. The seasoning mix doesn't have any salt so I can control the amount of salt added, too.

The night I made this chicken taco filling, we ended up with a cancelled soccer game. While the kids played elsewhere, I made a big pan of fajita veggies and a pot of rice. Not only did dinner get more interesting, but I was able to make a few taco bowls for lunches later in the week and beyond. These taco bowls freeze well for future lunches or quick dinners, too.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Filling

3 lbs. Thawed Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts

4 tbs. Penzy's Chicken Taco Seasoning

1-2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 lime

Put the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the seasoning on top. Pour the chicken broth over the seasoning and chicken. Set the slow cooker to low for 6-8 hours. I have a model that lets me set the cooking time and automatically switches to a warm setting until whenever someone turns it off. I love this! With this feature, I set the time to the low end of the range as the warm setting will continue to cook a little bit. A typical work day for us is usually about 11 hours of total slow cooking time.

To serve, shred the chicken and mix in the seasoned broth. I smashed the chicken pieces with a tongs to shred. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. When I slow cook with a pre-made broth, I always wait to season with salt until the end. I find that even the low sodium brand cooks down and concentrates the salt flavor. Juice one lime over the chicken.

Serve in tacos, on top of baked potatoes, in a rice bowl or in quesadillas. Leftovers can be refrigerated for three days or frozen.

Fajita Veggies

3 large bell peppers - we prefer red and I'm always tempted by the big bag at Costco

3 large yellow onions

2-3 tbs. olive oil

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2-3 tbs. Penzy's Chicken Taco Seasoning

Cut the peppers into strips, and finely slice the onions. I prefer the pieces of peppers a little bigger and the onions a little finer. Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the vegetables. Cook over medium-low to medium heat for twenty to thirty minutes. Stir frequently, being sure to scrape the bottom. I like a flat-edged wooden spoon for this. If you notice some areas sticking or over-browning, add a little more olive oil. Midway through, I add a cup or so of low-sodium chicken broth and the seasoning. This steams the vegetables and helps adhere the seasoning to them. When the vegetables are all soft and have a little color, they are done.