Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Winter will not leave over here in the Chicagoland area. You can usually count on me to complain about the heat because I loathe being hot. However at this point I’m complaining about the cold weather almost daily. We were spoiled last year by an early Spring and I know that’s making it feel even longer this year.  It has to break at some point but until then I’m still making soups, stews and chili. So I figured I would share with you guys my super easy Slow Cooker Chicken Chili. It’s yummy and incredible easy to throw together.

Ingredients

• 1-1.5lbs chicken breasts, I usually use frozen
• 1 (15oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 packet taco seasoning (or 1/4 cup if you buy it in bulk like me:)
• 1 (15oz) can of corn, drained
• 1 (15oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
• Cilantro, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Tortilla chips

Directions

1. Add chicken, diced tomatoes, onion and taco seasoning to slow cooker. Give it a rough stir. Cook on LOW for 8 hours. (If breasts are thawed you can do LOW for 4-6 hours.)
2. Once cooked, stir up chicken to shred it. Add beans, corn and cream cheese. Cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.
3. Add about 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro to crockpot and stir it up to mix the cream cheese in. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with tortilla chips and more cilantro sprinkled on top.

 

Hopefully this chicken chili can warm you guys up until we get to real Spring. For me, there’s nothing better than eating a hearty meal that basically cooked itself after a long day. I’m a firm believer in busting your slow cooker out at least once a week to give yourself a less stressful dinnertime. This chili freezes really well if you omit the cream cheese until you’re ready to serve. It also makes a a delicious soup that’s a healthy option if you omit the cream cheese and add a quart of chicken stock. To be honest, I could probably make the main filling of this into 10 different dishes but I’ll save that for another time!