The Easiest Green Chili Chicken, 5 ways

This isn't the most photogenic food. But dang, is it ever delicious-and SO easy! It's actually so easy I'm not sure if it qualifies as a "recipe" but I love love love it. I especially love that it's so versatile, you don't feel like you're eating the exact same thing every time. I live alone and cook for myself, so often by the time I get done with days of leftovers, I am *really* tired of them!

What you need (ingredients)

• chicken breasts
• jar of green chili-505 is a good brand. I have to settle for this green salsa, but I like green chili better! Buy whatever you like, from mild to spicy
• green chilis (canned or dehydrated)
• optional, depending on variation (see below): tortillas, sour cream, cilantro, tortilla chips, and/or eggs. The sky is the limit!

You can make this to feed any size of crowd. When I first had this camping, we had two giant crockpots full. I have a smaller crockpot, and only cook for myself so I used 4 chicken breasts, one small jar of salsa, and 1/2 cup dehydratred chilis, plus about 1/3 cup of water. 

*Crockpot tip* Your food will cook best if your crock is at least 2/3 full.

What to do (instructions)

Cook on high for about 3 hours or low for 6. If your chicken is frozen, cooking on high for 4-5 or low for 8-10 hours should suffice. When it's done, shred the chicken with forks or just cut into smaller pieces.

Here's the rundown of some different ways to eat this tasty dish.

#1 Out of a bowl, with a spoon
Top with some sour cream and cilantro and gobble this up as a stew.

#2 On top of tortilla chips, nacho style
-nuff said.

#3 Scrambled up with eggs for breakfast or dinner
One of my favorite post-workout dinners when I'm so hungry I'm ready to gnaw off my arm.

#4 In a taco or burrito (with or without eggs)
Also delicious topped with cilantro and sour cream. Because really, what isn't??

#5 Use it to smother something else
I had leftovers of this when camping and used it to smother these breakfast burritos. It was to die for!

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Living overseas has certainly changed my experience at the grocery store. Things I've taken for granted my whole life are suddenly really, really exciting. Example: corn tortillas. This is one item I just haven't been able to find here in Paraguay. I brought some masa down with me, but haven't yet taken the plunge. So, when I saw this happy little package at the grocery store I was thrilled! And yesterday was a great tropical rainstorm-cooler temperatures, lots of rain and even more thunder and lightening. Perfect cooking weather! I also had a friend over, who couldn't leave until the rain stopped-always good to have a captive audience when cooking. :)

What you need (ingredients):

2 chicken breasts, or leftover cooked chicken
1 can black beans, drained
1 can green chilis (I had to use dehydrated equivalent)
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1-2 packages of taco seasoning
10 small corn tortillas (of course you could use flour instead)
1 can enchilada sauce
grated cheese
toppings: sour cream and cilantro

What to do (instructions):

• If your chicken is raw, cook it. I just cooked mine up in a little olive oil. It gets plenty of seasoning later. When cooked, cut into small pieces and return to pan. 
• Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C.
• Add the next 4 ingredients, through taco seasoning, to the pan. You'll probably need a little bit of water to "activate" the taco seasoning. 
• You can use enchilada sauce straight out of the can, but the mild is a little too mild for me, so I toss it in the blender with a few canned chipotle peppers and find it much more flavorful! Spray the bottom of  9x13 cooking dish with some non-stick spray, then spoon a few tablespoons of sauce across the bottom of the pan.
• Microwave the tortillas between paper towels to soften them up a little. Then add a few spoonfulls of the mixture to each tortilla, roll it, and place it in the pan. I ended up with 10 enchiladas, and some extra stuffing, which I just put in the end of the baking pan!
• Top with enchilada sauce
• Top with cheese

• Bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. I think mine took about 15 minutes but I forgot to time it. 
• Top and enjoy!
  

• Tell your drooling roommate he can have some, but only after he retracts his facebook photo and statement taking credit for said enchiladas. ;)