Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken

KK and I got into the Christmas spirit yesterday by partaking in a Twelve Pubs of Christmas bar crawl.  And, of course, we all wore ugly Christmas sweaters.  This is the third annual pub crawl organized by my Irish friend Dave, so he made sure we stuck to a strict schedule of 30 minutes per bar.  Dave's also perfected the art of selecting bars in close proximity to one another, so this year's route was in the Financial District:
1. The Dubliner: KK arrived promptly for the 6PM kickoff toast.
2. Becketts
3. Stone Street Tavern
4. The Growler: This is where I joined the fun!
5. Ulysses': A few of us moved here early to order and inhale a quick dinner!
6. Harry's
7. Mercantile Grill
8. Killarney Rose
9. The Full Shilling: KK and I opted to make this our last stop because we wanted to catch the last direct train back to Hoboken.

I'm sad we weren't able to stick it out until the end, but glad we avoided massive hangovers! Keeping the holiday festivities going, I'm heading to a cookie swap tonight.  My dough's been in the refrigerator for almost 2 hours, so it'll be time for me to get baking once I finish this post!

As the temperature drops, soups and slow cooker recipes are making their way back into the rotation.  I have a love-hate relationship with the slow cooker; I love it because it makes dinner so easy and simple, but I hate it for the same reasons because it eliminates the fun of preparing the meal.  And, like most slow cooker meals, this one was simple: simply toss everything into the slow cooker, cover, cook for several hours, then enjoy!  KK and I both topped our dishes with crushed tortilla chips - the crunchiness was a nice touch.  I also turned mine into a “Santa Fe salad” by adding a substantial amount of lettuce to my bowl.  This meal could also be served plain, over rice, or made into a wrap with tortillas or large pieces of lettuce.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking

Time: 5 hrs on low, or 9 hrs on high

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breasts (can be frozen)

14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 ½ cups frozen corn

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a slow cooker.  Nestle chicken into mixture and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

2. 30 minutes prior to serving, shred with two forks.

3. Serve warm, and garnish with your favorite toppings.