Quick and uncomplicated

First week of the new year and my resolution is going strong.  As I mentioned before, I went to my parents house this week to house sit for them.  I seem to be much more inclined to cook when I'm there, mostly because things are much more readily available.

I must preface this recipe by telling you that I am a HUGE Chipotle fan.  I could eat a burrito bowl from Chipotle any day of the week.  However, because my boyfriend, Nick, and I are on a "no eating out and eating healthier" kick, I cannot even tell you the last time I had Chipotle :(

This brings us back to house sitting.  So we got to my house and the first thing we did was assess the food situation so we could grocery shop.  To my delight there was a ripe avocado, tons of fresh veggies (peppers, onions, jalapenos, lettuce etc.) among other things.  Before our shopping, Nick and I decided that we would make Chipotle at home, and I could cook the chicken in the crockpot as my first recipe!

And this is precisely what we did.

What you need:

Chicken-I've had bad experience with chicken breasts drying out in crockpot recipes, but I prefer white meat, so this time I used two chicken breasts that were still on the bone and had skin.

1 Onion, chopped

1 Bell Pepper, chopped

Marinade-now Chipotle meats have that good spicy kick to them, so I looked for a marinade that would harbor some similar flavors.  What I found was a KC Masterpiece Chipotle & Lime 30 minute marinade.

How to prepare and cook:

Marinate Chicken-use a fork and poke numerous holes in the chicken so that the marinade will soak up.  Place chicken in a gallon zip lock bag and pour in about half the bottle of marinade.  Now, I used a 30 minute marinade, but I actually marinated for about an hour for added flavor.

Chop pepper and onion and put in bottom of crockpot.

Add chicken and half the marinade from the bag so it has a little something to cook in.

Cook 4-6 hours on low.  This amount of time is typical for chicken so it doesn't dry out, I've learned.  What I did was cooked it for 3 hours on low then turned it up to high for the 4th hour.

Remove chicken, discard skin and bones, shred, put back in crockpot on warm for half an hour, or until ready to eat.

Serve with slotted spoon :)

I made mine into my own version of a burrito bowl with rice, salsa, cheese, lettuce, and guacamole.  Nick had his in burrito form. 

We used the left overs on sandwiches the next day.  I think this is a very versatile recipe and will be trying it with different marinades in the future.

Enjoy! 

Burrito Bowl

Chicken, ready to serve