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For me, this means more traffic during my 1 to 1-1/2 hour commute home, not to mention that it starts getting darker earlier, and everyone is starving for dinner by the time I finally arrive home. That would be around 7PM. And yes, I still come home and cook my family dinner…on most nights.
To make life easier for myself, I’m starting to test out quicker dinner recipes, keeping them light and healthy, of course. A new favorite are these chicken tacos. In the morning, I pulled out my old reliable slow-cooker, aka crock-pot, added the chicken breast, tossed in a jar of organic salsa and some organic chicken broth, turned the crock-pot on, and left to work for the day. When I arrived home, the kitchen was fragrant of something stewing. I could not wait to taste test the slow-cooked salsa chicken. Opening the lid of the slow-cooker, I saw that the chicken had absorbed most of the juice, leaving a thick rich sauce. The chicken was very moist and easily shredded with a fork.
I then quickly made some pico de gallo, and heated whole-wheat tortillas. That’s not all that I topped these tacos with. The day before, I had made gazpacho with cilantro pesto. Left with plenty of cilantro pesto, I figured it would make a great topping for these tacos. Which it did! Of course, you can add any type of toppings you desire. A home cooked healthy dinner doesn’t get any easier than this!
Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos, Cilantro Pesto + Pico de Gallo
Adapted from If It Makes You Healthy, Sheryl Crow
For the Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken
3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, preferably organic and free-rang
1-½ cups chicken stock, preferably organic
One 12-ounce jar or container mild salsa, preferably organic
12 soft whole-wheat tortillas
- In a crock-pot, add chicken and cover with chicken stock and salsa.
- Set crock-pot on low and cook 8 to 10 hours.
- Lift the chicken from the crock-pot, reserve the cooking liquid, and shred the meat with two forks. Transfer the shredded chicken to a bowl and drizzle the reserved cooking liquid to keep it moist.
- Heat tortillas and fill with chicken and garnish with the cilantro pesto and pico de gallo or toppings of your choice.
For the Cilantro Pesto
1 bunch cilantro, thick stems removed (1 to 2 loosely packed cups)
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
½ jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup extra –virgin olive oil
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the cilantro, pumpkin seeds, jalapeno, lemon juice, garlic, and salt until almost smooth. With the processor running, slowly drizzle half of the olive oil into the pesto through the feed tube. When half of the olive oil is incorporated, scrape down the sides of the food processor, Again, with the moot running, add the remaining oil.
- Using a rubber spatula, scoop the pesto into a container with a tight-fitting lid. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
For the Pico de Gallo
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
½ bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves chopped
1 Serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt to taste
- Add all ingredients to a serving bowl. Pico de gallo can be stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
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