Crock pot cooking two days in a row… The weather turned cool and rainy yesterday. I subscribe to Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food daily email. Every day a simple recipe is delivered to my email box. Yesterday it was a crock pot dish with a link to 10 other crock pot recipes. I browsed them. This recipe immediately caught my eye. It sounded so good and so simple. I decided to bookmark it and make it soon.

I had my monthly cooking class last night. I needed a few groceries. While at the store, the chicken thighs caught my eye. I decided that today would be the  day for this Tex-Mex stew. This morning before going to work I threw together the few ingredients. The results were perfect. I highly recommend this recipe. Again, it was super, super simple. It packed a lot of taste and was healthy to boot.

I used bone-in skinless thighs. I  think crockery cooking with boneless chicken comes out too dry and overcooked. The bones seem to result in a moister dish. I cut the chipotle chiles to 1 TBS. It was still somewhat spicy. Here’s a handy hint, chiles in adobo sauce are very tasty. They pack a lot of heat. Scrape away the seeds before dicing. I store my chiles in a 1 cup container in the freezer and defrost it a little when I need that extra kick.

I like to use chicken breasts, but I know that many bariatric patients find thighs easier to eat. The dark meat also gives more taste and flavor. A final note, the recipe originally served 4. It can easily serve 6 adults. Those on bariatric diets will probably eat 1/8 of the recipe.

Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 jar (11 ounces) mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (Do not open lid or stir.)

Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

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