Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken and Quinoa

By 1For_Him

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook time: 7 hours

Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen corn
• 2 large chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs; can be frozen)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed*
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• crushed tortilla chips
• (sour cream, shredded cheese, jalapenos)

Preparation

Step 1

Place corn in an even layer on the bottom of a 5-6 quart slow cooker, then layer chicken breasts, black beans and salsa on top.
Stir cumin, garlic, oregano and cayenne and chicken broth into diced tomatoes, then pour mixture over black beans and salsa in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and tender.
Remove chicken from slow cooker and turn slow cooker up to high. Stir in quinoa and replace lid. Shred chicken and return to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30-40 minutes, or until quinoa has cooked and soaked up remaining liquid in the slow cooker. (Some salsas are more liquidy than others, so if you are finding that after 25 minutes or so that the mixture still looks very wet, take the top off the slow cooker and stir a few times while it finishes cooking so that some of the moisture can evaporate.)
Serve warm with tortilla chips, cilantro and avocado.

*Make sure you rinse your quinoa before using it. Your package may say that it is pre-washed but I've had packages of pre-washed quinoa that were very bitter unless I rinsed it myself.