Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

This is another recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. I'm now 2-for-2 with their recipes, and I'm excited to try more.

In a crock pot, add:
1 pound chicken (I used frozen chicken breasts)
1 large can black beans (is that the 28 oz can? I can't remember)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
1 (16oz) jar salsa
1 1/2 tsp cumin

Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

At the very end of cooking, I shredded the chicken and stirred in the 3/4 can of fat free refried black beans that I had taking up space in my fridge. The recipe doesn't call for them, but I couldn't think of another way to use them.....they ended up thickening the soup nicely, so I think I'll add them next time as well.

Serve with:
shredded cheese
avocado
sour cream
chopped cilantro

Sooooooooooooo delicious. (And also with minimal effort. Which, for me, is a necessary bonus).

Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken

This sauce for the chicken is so yummy. I served it with a veggie stir fry and it was a big hit.

Recipe from Mrs. Harding Cooks.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)

Sauce:
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon ginger (I used ground ginger)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup apple juice
⅓ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ cup water
⅓ cup soy sauce

Directions:

- Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

- Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned.

- Drain on paper towels and set aside.
- In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients.

- Pour into wok and bring to a boil.

- Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

- Serve over rice, or by itself.

Crockpot Applesauce Chicken

I made this last night, and it was a hit with my family! We served it with mashed sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
1 1/2 c. applesauce
1 T. dried onion flakes, or 1/4 yellow onion, chopped finely
1 T. Apple cider vinegar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Put chicken breasts in the bottom off a 3-4 quart crock pot and add chopped onions on top. (If you're using dried onion, add that to the applesauce first).

2. In a bowl, mix applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of the chicken.

3. Cover and cook for 5-7 hours on low, or on high for 3-4.

(This recipe came from A Year of Slow Cooking....LOTS of good recipes on there).