Make It Monday: Margarita Chicken

 

Two things I love: margaritas and the crock pot (or slow cooker). Oh wait - chicken too! This Make it Monday post combines all three of those to make Margarita Chicken. And guess what? Your kids can not only eat it, they will love it too! No worries - there is no tequila in the recipe.

Thanks to Red Tricycle, I found this versatile, low fat chicken recipe from Crockpot Gourmet that you can serve over brown rice, couscous, quinoa or over a bed of greens with veggies and a citrus vinaigrette.

But let's talk crock pot though first. Four problems I see with the crock pot -

1) People don't use it enough. Hello....it's soooo easy. Throw in the ingredients (no thawing necessary), walk away and come back 4-8 hrs later to a homemade meal. Now why are you complaining about dinner again?!?!?

2) People think you have to be a "mom with kids" to use a crock pot. If you're single or a couple, just buy yourself a Food Saver and vacuum seal the leftovers. Note to moms; you too should do this. If you're already cooking, why not make a little more, vacuum seal the extra and wah-la you have yourself another meal on another night that will literally take seconds to heat up.

3) People associate "crock pot" with unhealthy. That's incredibly naïve. There are a gazillion recipes online and crock pot cookbooks that cater to people's dietary needs; vegetarian, low-carb, Paleo to name a few.

3) People think that once warm weather hits, that it's time to put the crock pot away. So not the case. Not all crock pot meals are cold weather soups and stews. In fact, there are several light, delicious summery meals that will save you from standing over the stove on a hot day.

Moral of the story - USE A CROCK POT. And make this meal. :)

Margarita Chicken

 

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup limeade (frozen limeade works)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 cup water or chicken broth
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix rice, limeade, orange juice, water, garlic and cilantro in bottom of crock
2. Add chicken to crock and sprinkle the top part that is not covered by liquid with the cayenne pepper and salt and pepper
3. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours

Note: You may want to use an oval crock for this so the liquid not be as deep and the chicken will not be submerged.