A Do-What-You-Want-With-It Sante Fe Style Chicken from the Slow Cooker (with 5 ideas)
By: Roni | Posted in: 5 WWP, 7 WWPP, Crockpot Ideas, Dinner Ideas, Lunch Ideas, Soup/Stew Ideas, Toddler Approved, Vegetarian Ideas | 32 Comments
I made this TWO weeks ago and totally forgot to post it. Ok, that’s a lie. I had to psych myself up to actually sit down and get it all out of my head. I knew it was going to be a long one!
This was a total winner of a dish. We ate it 2 nights in a row and I had it for lunch twice. Now that’s getting your money’s worth out of a crock pot meal!
Both Husband and child were fans too. I purposely made it mild so it would be a family pleaser. I even ended up pureeing some for Little Bean. Just a few nibbles. Enough to give him a taste.
The idea hit me when I simply did not want to bother with dinner, but I knew if I didn’t get something going we’d end up eating out AGAIN. Lately, we’ve been trying to avoid that for more than one reason, but mostly financially.
Instead, around 2:30PM I pulled out the crock pot and threw a bunch of stuff in it. 
Who knew I’d end up inventing a family favorite. Well, sort of, I’ll explain when I get to how I actually used the chicken. First let me tell you how I made it.
- 1 10oz can of Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup (+1/4 can of water)
- 1 15oz can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15oz can of diced tomatoes (with green chilies would up the flavors/spice aspect)
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- Optional (I didn’t have any on hand) 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp dried cumin
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- pinch of kosher salt
- 2 large boneless frozen chicken breasts (total mine was over 2 lbs)
Mix all ingredients in the crock pot.
Stir and add the frozen chicken. I keep solo breasts in separate freezer bags so I can grab just what I need when I’m cooking.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours. Low about 6 would probably work too, but I haven’t tried it. After 3 hours it will look like this…
Remove the chicken and shred. I used 2 forks and pulled it apart.
Add the chicken back into the crock pot.
You can continue to cook for a little while to let the flavors merge with the shredded chicken or eat right away.
Use 1. Chicken Enchiladas
I am SO glad I took a chance and made these. I really didn’t think the husband would go for them, but he loved it! Here’s what I did.
- 2 cups of the Sante Fe Style Chicken from the Slow Cooker above
- 5 of your favorite low carb/cal tortillas
- 2 oz of fancy shredded mexican cheese blend
- dried cilantro
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Lay out a tortilla and fill with a scoop of the chicken/bean mixture leaving as much of the liquid as you can. Roll and place in a casserole dish sprayed with a bit of non-stick spray.
Repeat for all tortillas.
Pour the remaining liquid from the 2 cups of Sante Fe Style Chicken on top of the rolled tortillas. Top with cheese and a bit of dried cilantro.
Bake about 20 minutes.
As I said, big hit with the Husband and of course, I LOVED IT. I wasn’t ready to chance them on Little Guy so I did make him something else. I’m not normally a fan of this approach, but he still ate the base of the meal just in a kid friendly form. May I present…
Use 2. Sante Fe Chicken Quesadillas
Using 2 tortillas I put some of the Sante Fe Chicken minus most of the liquid, some cheese and even some chopped baby spinach and made him a quesadillas using this technique.
He ate the WHOLE thing.
Use 3. Sante Fe Chicken over Rice
This is how I would have served it for dinner initially if I married anyone who remotely liked food, but honestly, if I would make it like this NO one in my house would eat it except me. Which sucks because it’s my favorite type of meal.
Use 4. Sante Fe Chicken Stuffed Peppers
I decided to give this a try with the leftovers to see how the family would react. I mixed about 2 cups of the Sante Fe Chicken with 2 cups of brown rice then stuffed 5 bell peppers and topped with cheese.
I baked for about 30 minutes until the peppers were just softening.
The husband ate 2 but said he preferred the enchiladas. After some convincing that what was IN the peppers was the same stuff IN the quesadilla, Little Guy ate one too!
Use 5. Sante Fe Chicken over a bed of Baby Spinach
After all that I had about 1 cup left and no rice. So for lunch I decided to take a bunch of baby spinach, top it with the chicken, and pop it in the microwave. It was delish! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture!
Overall this idea was a pleasant surprise. It was the first time in a long time I was able to make a one pot meal the whole family actually enjoyed. I could eat stuff like this every day!
I ended up with 6 cups of the Sante Fe Chicken so I’ll provide nutritional information for that. Hope my slow cooker exerpiement gives you some ideas!
| Servings | Amt per Serving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 cup | |||
| Calories | Fat | Fiber | WWPs | |
| 280 | 3g | 4g | old: 5 | new: 7 |
| Sugar | Sat Fat | Carbs | Protein | |
| 1g | 1g | 22g | 40g | |
Other ideas you may enjoy... |
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Your husband cracks me up. Mine has agreed to try this if I make it. I think it looks amazing and yummy! I love how versatile you made it :)
Some of my best meals and our family favorites come from me dumping stuff in a pot/crock pot and seeing what happens. The hard part is writing down what I did so I can re-create it. I LOVE when I can cook once (using a crock pot at that) and get multiple meals out of it.
Looks great. What type of crockpot do you use?
I am definitely giving this a try! I’m just getting into the crock pot thing (we call it a slow cooker over here!). I made beef curry in it the other night. Yum.
Quick question or 3? Do you think turkey mince would work just as well as the chicken?
and did I pick this up right? You put the chicken in frozen? I never thought of this. I guess I would be afraid it wouldn’t be cooked through but thinking about it now after 3 or 4 hours why wouldn’t it be!!
Do you ever brown the meat you are using first? I’ve heard it helps with the flavour.
Looks yummy! Thanks for sharing your experiment! I have been looking for slow cooker meals and this is one I definitely make next week. This week I have a whole chicken I want to cook that has thawed in the fridge.
I have done a variation of this, but with jarred salsa instead of the canned soup and the canned tomatoes. It’s even easier, because there’s no need to add any spices since the salsa adds all the flavor. If you like it creamier, you can add fat free cream cheese at the end.
Lee- Ann – it’s just a run of the mill slow cooker. I think it’s this one….
Rival 3040BC Slow Cooker 4 Quart, Black and Chrome
Yup! Frozen chicken went in! I’ve experimented with this before..
http://greenlitebites.com/2009/11/12/the-frozen-chicken-slow-cooker-experiment/
sherijung – I’ve heard of the salsa trick before! I’ve always gravitated towards spicing things myself and salsa doesn’t last long in this house. ;) But I’ve been meaning it give it a try!
I made this tonight and it was delish! I only had 1 lb of chicken so I added mushrooms to bulk it up a bit. I also added some diced green chilies and green peppers. Can’t wait to make enchiladas tomorrow. Thanks Roni!
We regularly make something like this (but with salsa instead of mushroom soup), and it’s always delicious. I’ve only ever used it in enchiladas or tacos though, I love your other ideas!
I would have never thought to add the mushroom soup – great idea! And even better that it can be used for multiple meals.
Mm. This looks yummy. I made something similar to this about a week ago but I made it on the stove. I used a can of Bush’s Grillin Beans, Black bean fiesta flavor, additional corn, and a can of diced tomatoes with chilies. I’m going to try this soon. Thanks.
This looks good! Any ideas for making it thicker without the cream soup? We’ve got some no-dairy people in our house. I’ve made chicken in the crockpot with a jar of salsa and have done something similar, but I like how yours is more recipe-ready.
Thanks!
Try replacing the can of soup with a few tbsp of whole wheat flour disolved in chicken broth or just water. Works for my beef stew. :)
I made this today – LOVED IT!! It was a winner for hubby as well!
Do you think it would work to use a bit of plain Greek yogurt to thicken it up instead of the can of soup or cream cheese? Would you add it in at the beginning or during the last hour of cooking?
Can’t say, I haven’t tried it but I’d guess that it would work better at the beginning so it slowly warms up with the rest of the ingredients.
Made this over the weekend and loved it! I wound up adding a bit more chili powder (I like things spicy) and will be making more soon… it’s perfect fall fare!
I made this yesterday. Added the suggested green pepper.
I’m eating right now with mashed potatoes. It is fabulous! I’ll be making this again.
I made this yesterday and it was a super hit. Husband and 10-year old daughter loved it. Made some brown rice to go with it, but I liked it better without the rice. Awesome and super easy to make. I’m all for anything in a crockpot!
I am quite the novice at this so what would I need to do if the chicken wasn’t frozen? Does that effect when to add the chicken etc? I don’t want to overcook it. Thanks, Beth
Beth – when i made it I didn’t use frozen chicken. I cubed up 2 chicken breasts and just added them in at the beginning with everything else and it turned out fine. I did this so I didn’t have to pull it out and shred it later. I also subbed in half a jar of salsa and some extra diced tomatoes instead of the can of cream of chicken soup. I also cooked it on low for 6-8 hrs instead of on high.
Thanks Kristen!
Beth – You should be fine with defrosted chicken, this is one of those dishes you really can’t mess up. Maybe reduce cooking time by an hour our so or set a time to not start it until midday. The chicken could be overcooked as the sauce will keep it moist.
Check out Kristen’s modifications above.
Thanks for both replies. I can not wait to try this!
Tried this and loved it. I mistakenly bought cream of mushroom soup but it worked fine. I’ve put this over rice and coucous. Quesadillas next. It freezes well also. Thaks again Roni.
LOL that was supposed to say thanks.
Morning Roni….I LOVE this meal….my chicken breast was thawed and I added the green pepper and it all turned out perfect. Had it with the wraps for supper and the rest will be over spinach for my lunches. A keeper for sure!
Thanks Roni:)
Michelle in Canada
I just made this last night and it was DELICIOUS!! The husband had 2 bowls and I still have leftovers to take to work tomorrow for lunch. I served it over rice because we’d just had enchiladas the other night, but the next time I make it, I’m definitely going that route. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made this for my husband tonight and he absolutely loved it!! I served this in a bowl with just some grands flaky biscuits on the side and he couldn’t get enough. Thanks again for the recipe!!
I made this for dinner tonight and served it as soup in a bowl with a little queso quesadilla cheese on top. We dipped tortillas in it. Yummy!! I love that it’s made with things I have on hand. I was only short on one thing – I didn’t have a full tablespoon of chili powder, so I filled in with chipotle chili pepper. I can’t wait to have the leftovers! Thanks for the recipe, Roni!