Why is it that everyone seems to be in love with their crock pots?

I have one.

I’ve used it.

I don’t get the way everyone goes gaga over them. They seem like more prep than they’re worth…. Am I missing something? Can’t you just use a pot with a lid in your oven? Won’t it cook faster??

I don’t get it.

So anyway, I’ve been hearing a lot about cooking in crockpots in all of the cooking blogs I follow. Yesterday someone blogged about chicken with Ro-Tel tomatoes and black beans with cumin and some chili spices. Maybe some other spices too. I forget. I accidentally deleted the email.

Since I already had the oven working (I was baking some macaroons), I grabbed a pyrex with a lid, a can of black beans, a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and a package of chicken breasts I happened to have on hand. From the pantry I grabbed the cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and mild chili powder. I dumped the tomatoes and their juices into the dish. I rinsed the black beans and tossed them in. I added about 1/4 teaspoon of each spice (figuring I’d start small and could as I go). I stirred and tasted. Added more garlic and salt. Tasted again. Then I rinsed and dried the chicken breasts and nestled them into the beans/tomato mixture. I put the lid on and shoved the thing into the oven for an hour.

In the pot!

HOLY COW! J, C and I ate it aaaaaaall. R picked the beans out and ate most of those. *sigh* That kid eats very little dinner. Later, I asked C if he liked the meal. ‘Very good,’ he responded. *clapping*

Fire-Roasted Tomatoes added a nice touch

Crockpotless Chicken by Me

Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free

Printable Recipe HERE

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts **I used boneless, skinless. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand. If you’re using skin-on, I’d recommend removing the skin so it won’t get all rubbery.

1 can Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

1 can Black beans

1/4 teaspoon Cumin **Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your tastes.

1/4 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon Mild Chili powder

Salt/Pepper to taste

How To:

1- Oven to 350º. Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts/pieces.

2- Grab a deep casserole dish with a lid. Dump the tomatoes and their juices into the dish. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the tomatoes. Add the spices. Stir. Taste. Adjust seasonings.

3- Nestle the chicken into the beans/tomatoes. Top with the lid and shove the thing into the oven. Check back in 45 minutes and see if the meat is done. It will probably be done in an hour, but keep checking after 45 just in case.

4- Serve with rice (I like using broth instead of water when I cook rice. Better flavor).

Basmati rice made with stock instead of water

Enjoy!

Oh – and the beans make terrific toddler missiles if you happen to stop paying attention to certain said toddler(s).

Just saying.

MMMMMMMMmmmmMM

Quick pix in between bites