Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

I love cooking in the crock pot!!  When I saw this recipe at Cooking Classy, I couldn't wait to try it.  I left out the ground coriander and added chopped jalapeno.  

I cooked mine on low for 5 hours and then shredded the chicken.  The vegetables get quite soft, if you cook them for the full time.  I didn't mind them so soft, but if you like them to have a little bite, you could probably keep them out and add them the last hour or two of cooking.  I thought the flavor was great and our family all loved them!!

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts halved

1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 of each red, orange and green bell pepper, sliced

1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

3/ tsp pepper

2 Tb fresh lime juice

1 Tb honey

For serving:  flour tortillas, sour cream, cheese, salsa, chopped avocado

Directions:  Pour half of the canned tomatoes into the bottom of a crock pot and spread into an even layer.  Add half of the peppers and half of the onions and garlic.  Top with chicken breasts.

In a bowl whisk together chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.  Evenly sprinkle half of the seasoning over chicken breasts then flip chicken and sprinkle in remainder.  Top with the rest of the tomatoes and then peppers and onions.

Cover and cook on high heat for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 hours, until the chicken is cooked through.  I cooked mine on low for 5 hours and then shredded the chicken.  (The vegetables get quite soft, if you cook them for the full time.  I didn't mind them so soft, but if you like them to have a little bite, you could probably keep them out and add them the last hour or two of cooking...on low).  If you want your chicken to be a little more 'firm' so that you can slice it instead of shred it, don't cook as long....but make sure that the chicken is cooked completely!

Remove chicken and cut into strips or shred.  Ladle out 1 cup of the juice from the crock pot and discard.  In small bowl whisk together lime juice and honey and add to the crock pot along with the chicken.  Season with additional salt to taste, if desired.  Gently toss together.  Serve warm in warmed tortillas with cheese, sour cream, salsa and chopped avocados.

Recipe slightly adapted from:  Cooking Classy

Quesadillas

We eat tacos and bean burritos quite often at our house. These are two inexpensive and easy meals. This past week I have tried to make the beans and taco meat into something that looks like a whole different meal:) So hear you go. Next time you make taco meat or cook a pot of beans try serving them up this way:)

Taco Quesadilla Rolls

Ingredients:

• Prepared Taco Meat
• Tortillas
• Cheese
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Lettuce

Directions: Warm tortilla on a griddle or a large frying pan. Add cheese and taco meat to the top of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up and let sit on the griddle/frying pan. Roll until all sides of the tortilla are warm and getting crunchy. Serve with salsa, sour cream and shredded lettuce.

Layered Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• Refried beans, or prepared beans(see below)
• Tortillas (I used 5 large tortillas)
• Cheese
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Cilantro

Directions: Warm tortilla on griddle or large frying pan and spread with beans and cheese. Top with another tortilla. When the bottom tortilla is warm and getting crispy, flip the 'stack'. Top the crispy tortilla with beans and cheese and another tortilla. When the bottom tortilla is warm and getting crispy flip again. Repeat for desired number of layers. I did 5 tortillas with 4 layers of beans and cheese. These were SO yummy!! We loved the crispy tortilla layers!! For the beans: I cooked a pot of beans and put them in the food processor to make them smooth.

Tortilla Rolling Pin

I just wanted to share with you all my favorite rolling pin to roll tortilla dough! I bought it online from Gourmet Sleuth. It makes rolling tortillas quick and easy. If you are interested, you can order it here. FYI Gourmet Sleuth has great customer service. Here is a picture of mine dusted in flour. I took the pictures while making tortillas.

Don't miss the recipe and directions for the homemade flour tortillas.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

I LOVE fresh cooked flour tortillas. I learned how to make these at a church activity a few years ago and have been making them ever since. They are really not difficult, simple ingredients and they are SO yummy!! When I make these my husband and children are like vultures waiting to grab one hot off the griddle:)

Tortilla dough ready to rest.

Ready to roll.

Ready to flip to the second side.

Ready to eat!!

Ingredients:

• 10 cups all purpose unbleached flour
• 2 T salt
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• 4 cups hot water

Directions: Place flour and salt into large bowl. Mix with fingers. Add shortening. Blend with your hand or a pastry blender until crumbly. Slowly pour in hot water. Gently incorporate until all flour is mixed in. If dough is too sticky, add a little flour. If dough is too stiff, add a little more water. Dough should be soft and elastic like. I knead the dough for a couple of minutes in the bowl, but make sure you don't overwork the dough. You can then separate into small balls about the size of a golf ball(I just leave it all together and pull off a bit of dough when I am ready to roll). Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes. I cover my dough with plastic wrap and then cover the bowl with a large towel. After 1/2 hour, take a piece of dough roll into a ball and flatten slightly. Roll it out into a circle on a floured surface. I cook my tortillas on my griddle at 400 degrees. You want the griddle or pan to be HOT. Put it on the griddle, when it starts to 'bubble' a little flip and cook until just starting to get brown on the bubbles spots. I then move them to a towel and cover them to cool while I cook the rest. When the tortillas are cool, I store them in a gallon size ziploc bag in the refrigerator or freezer.

**I usually half this recipe(this recipe will make A LOT of tortillas), actually I have made them SO many times now that I just add what 'looks' right to me for the # of tortillas I want. If you make this large batch, they will be good in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or you can freeze them for up to 2 months. I usually just make small batches that we use in a day or two, otherwise I don't have time to roll and cook them all before the kids or baby are calling:)