Day 34 - Chicken Santa Fe

EASY CHICKEN SANTA FE http://www.recipegirl.com/

One (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed & drained

One small bag frozen sweet corn (or 2 cans, rinsed & drained)

1 cup bottled chunky salsa

6 skinless chicken thighs (or 6 skinless chicken breasts- see tips below) (I used breasts)

One (8 ounce) package cream cheese (low fat is fine), cut into chunks (I used half a package)

1 cup shredded cheddar (I didnt use)

1. In a slow cooker, mix beans, corn and 1/2 cup salsa. Top with chicken and pour remaining salsa over the chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours, or until chicken is tender and cooked throughout.
2. Remove chicken to a cutting board and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return chicken to slow cooker along with cream cheese. Stir and let cream cheese melt into the mixture to create a creamy sauce.
3. For serving: You can serve the chicken & sauce over rice with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top. Or you can serve these as tacos with cheese and a couple of taco fixings such as lettuce and tomato.

Serves: 4 to 6

Cooking Tips:*For chicken, the thighs will turn out more moist and tender than the breasts in a slow cooker. I used bone-in thighs and removed the skin. After the 3 hours, I removed the thighs, cut off the chicken, discarded the bones and returned the chicken to the slow cooker. You can use breasts too, just be sure not to overcook them or you’ll run the risk of drying them out.*If you’re watching your weight, you can most certainly leave out the cream cheese. It makes an awfully yummy sauce, but the corn/beans/salsa/chicken mixture would also make for an excellent dinner over rice or inside tortillas.

This is a keeper. I made with half the cream cheese and no regular cheese. It was delish with a tortilla but would be really good on top of lettuce. I dont even think it needed the cream cheese, the mixture was good and easy to make. Easy to heat up for lunch the next day.

Jen