#300 Slow Cooker Citrus Lime Chicken, By: V

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Yes, a bit late, but I hope you all had a great Halloween.  Every year I miss the opportunity to hand out candy to the kids in my building, because both my roommate and I are always out at a Halloween party, and the same thing happened this year.  But, I did get a moment to carve my first ever pumpkin!  

This Halloween I attended a Halloween party hosted by a close friend and her boyfriend. I dressed up as a gumball machine!  I'll refrain from showing you a picture, but you get the general idea -- a red skirt with the 25 cent slot and multicolored cotton balls (the "gumballs") covering a t-shirt I wore on top.  All in all a quick and crafty costume, for someone pretty far from crafty! 

Then, on Sunday I went out to my parents place for Sunday lunch.  My mom (Malli) cooked a fantastic lunch.  I was too hungry to remember to take a picture of everything, but I did get a picture of this delicious layered salad and her desserts:  oreo cupcakes, almond joy mousse and an apple pie with a bacon crumb topping.  Needless to say I packed enough leftovers to last a week or two.

So, in the middle of my weekend, on my lazy Saturday (post Halloween extravaganza of a night) I decided to make this Citrus Lime Chicken. If I haven't made it clear already, I'm a big fan of the slow cooker.  My mom bought me one when I was in law school and while it slowly collected dust on my kitchen counter then, now, I use it time and time again.  

I usually do slow cooker meals when I know I'll be home for a few hours at a stretch.  What can I say, I'm just not comfortable leaving something plugged in and on while I'm away from my apartment.  This is another one of those "levels of flavor" dish, but I can't take all the credit for the flavors in this dish - Grill Mates Baja Citrus Marinade does add the brightness to this dish, but if you can't find it I imagine a squirt of one lime will do the same!

Ingredients

15.5 oz can kidney beans

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 yellow onion chopped

14 oz chicken

2 tbsps cocnut oil

McCormick Baja Citrus Marinade

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 tsp salt

2 tspns Mexican-style chili powder (chili peppers, garlic, cumin, salt and oregano)

1/4 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Remove all the fat off your chicken.  Feel free to cut or not cut as you desire.  You can use tenderloins, chicken thighs, or breast for this dish, but I’d recommend taking off the skin and extra pieces of fat. 
2. Rub the Baja Citrus Marinade on the chicken.  Turn the slower cooker on high and add the coconut oil.
3. Once the oil has melted place in the chicken.  Top the chicken with the onions, bell pepper, kidney beans and diced tomatoes. 
4. Then add the salt, Mexican style chili powder and chicken broth. 
5. Stir thoroughly.  Cover with a lid and cook on high heat for 1 ½ hours
6. Then take the lid off, rotate and rest on the crockpot so that about half the pot is uncovered.  This will allow for some of the liquid to evaporate off.  Cook for another 30 minutes and you're ready to eat!