I recently purchased a small, 1-2 serving Rival crock pot. This was my first week using it, and man am I glad I bought it. So far, all I've cooked in it were chicken breasts. I had grown tired of dry, chewy chicken breasts, and found that even baking them, I was dissatisfied.

Now I throw a couple of breasts into the crock pot (with enough water to come just to the top of the chicken, and my seasoning of choice - low sodium soy sauce, black pepper, and garlic powder) either in the morning to cook all day or at night before bed to cook overnight. 8-10 hours later, I have chicken that melts apart when a fork touches it. I
can either eat it that way, or shred it all up and throw it in with some of the juice and some brown rice to make easy servings of chicken and rice.

This weekend I'll probably do a lean pork tenderloin, and maybe find a good cut of beef to slow cook, too. This thing makes my meal preparation for the week much easier, and is great late in the week when I am low on meals and time. Last night I just threw the chicken in before bed and it was ready this morning when I woke up.

Congratulations! I LOVE using my crock pot...

Here's a couple links that have some recipies:

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=20242&highlight=crock+pot

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=32745&highlight=crock+pot

There's more under the tread search but I haven't checked them all out yet. :eat:

Thanks for the thread...I've gotten to the point where I dread eating grilled/baked chicken breast (maybe because my last batch I apparently screwed up...very rubbery). I'm gonna dig out the ol' crockpot this weekend and give it a whirl :tucool:

This keeps it really, really juicy because I can throw in as much or as little of the juice to preserve it as I want (I put in way more juice if I am adding rice, as even cooked, it'll absorb a lot of the juices).

We've got one and I use it in the winter all the time. Homemade chicken soup, potatoes and green beans, pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, london broil, chili, etc...

I also like to make beans with it. I'll buy a huge bag of pinto beans and cook them during the day with a little seasoning. If you do cook beans, let them soak over night and throw that water away before cooking them. It'll cut down on the gassiness of the beans.

My crockpot chicken recipe for this week:

1 can fat free cream of mushroom
2 cups chicken breast
4 chicken breasts

set crockpot for low on 8 hours

I made some brown rice, and then portioned out 4 chicken and rice lunches for the week. Garnish with salt and hot sauce. So much better than my inconsisten grilled/baked chicken!

Forgive my ignorance but what is a crock pot? Where can I buy one? Anyone have any ideas about the price range? :blank:

Forgive my ignorance but what is a crock pot? Where can I buy one? Anyone have any ideas about the price range? :blank:

Also known as a slow cooker (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-3145190-5140418?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=slow+cooker). You can buy them pretty much anywhere around here you can buy other small kitchen appliances...from Wal-Mart and Target to department stores to Bed Bath & Beyond.

Yeah, Crock Pot is just a brand name. I got mine, from Rival, for like $10 at Wal-Mart.

By the by, yesterday I took three chicken breasts and threw them into the cooker with maybe 1/3 bottle of BBQ sauce and cooked them for about 6 hours on high. I shredded it up like pulled pork and had it on a tortilla.

Holy crap. Amazingly good. It's basically pulled pork... with chicken. So good.

This week's chicken recipe, and I think I'll stick w/ this one for the time being.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cups chicken broth
4 chicken breasts (could easily do 6)

This batch came out a lot tastier than the cream of mushroom. Next time I make it, I will throw in a bunch of mixed veggies towards the end, since my lunches are definitely lacking on the veggie factor.

Got a crock pot today. Breasts are sitting outside to defrost will post the results later tonight :tu:

Got a crock pot today. Breasts are sitting outside to defrost will post the results later tonight :tu:

One of the great things about the crockpot is that you don't have to wait for your chicken to defrost. My chicken still comes out fork tender, and I throw them in straight from the freezer.

Also, leaving your chicken out to thaw is a bit on the unsafe side. You should let them thaw inside the fridge (which unfortunately takes a long time)

One of my favorites:

1 lb chicken breast
1 cup low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 package Taco seasoning (I use Ortega hot and spicy)

Let that cook for at least 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low... longer works too! Take the chicken breasts out, shred 'em up, then throw the shredded chicken back into the seasonings to simmer for a while and you've got very simple shredded taco chicken. Throw it on a corn tortilla with some lowfat cheese and some salsa over the top and you've got enchiladas. I also use the meat in salads, the taco flavoring adds enough flavor that there's no reason to add any other dressing! I also add it to brown rice as well, and then sometimes throw some corn into the mix there too.

I've also done the BBQ sauce thing and it's VERY good. I will sometimes just cook several pounds of chicken in chicken broth, then take it out and shred it plain. At this point, I'll split it in halfs and flavor half of it BBQ and half taco. It makes for easy meal preparation for the week, with at least a little bit of variety!

** Edit **
So now I actually READ the links from above and see that somebody posted this same taco recipe, ha! It's good enough to warrant this post too though, try it!

Are the breasts boneless/skinless?

The chicken came out good. It simply melted away at the touch of a fork. Beautiful, just beautiful. So today i got a pack of taco seasoning and a can of cream of mushroom. Anyone have any recipes to cook these things without using chicken broth?

whoa, I never thought about using a slow cooker for chicken breasts. I'm definitely going to try this. :)

The chicken came out good. It simply melted away at the touch of a fork. Beautiful, just beautiful. So today i got a pack of taco seasoning and a can of cream of mushroom. Anyone have any recipes to cook these things without using chicken broth?

Just curious, why don't you want to use chicken broth? It really helps to make sure that the chicken stays nice and moist.

I'm gonna give that taco seasoning recipe a shot this weekend, but my can of cream o celery + can of cream o chicken + broth recipe was way tastier than the mushroom one fwiw.

Can't use it at home here. My family members are strict Muslims but I'm an atheist, I have no problem with me using chicken broth but it might cause some problems here at home. So for the time being I'm going to have to lay off the broth. Anyone know how I can make some good tasting breasts without using broth? :(

Can't use it at home here. My family members are strict Muslims but I'm an atheist, I have no problem with me using chicken broth but it might cause some problems here at home. So for the time being I'm going to have to lay off the broth. Anyone know how I can make some good tasting breasts without using broth? :(

Good enough!

I'm sure you can get away with just using some salty water (like a teaspoon or 2 of water per cup of water) instead of broth.

Can't use it at home here. My family members are strict Muslims but I'm an atheist, I have no problem with me using chicken broth but it might cause some problems here at home. So for the time being I'm going to have to lay off the broth. Anyone know how I can make some good tasting breasts without using broth? :(
I don't understand why chicken's okay but not broth.

If you can find this one in a store near you, it's a good substitute for chicken broth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegeta_(food)

Could you use that?

Because the chicken is Halal whereas the purchased broth is not. Perhaps I can make my own broth by just boiling some chicken but it would be a waste of chicken, since I would have to prepare the broth separately each time.


I'll look for the Vegeta or some similar product today. Thanks you guys! :)

You could use water and chicken flavored bouillon cubes... if that's acceptable.

Technically you could just use water, but the point of using the broth is to keep the chicken as flavorfull as possible. If you do use water, just make sure to add enough other spices to make sure that the chicken doesn't become bland.

Salsa. Use salsa :nod: The acidity helps tenderize even more. Probably with a bit of water, too.

And if you want carbs, dump in a can of black beans.

I'm making myself hungry.

Because the chicken is Halal whereas the purchased broth is not. Perhaps I can make my own broth by just boiling some chicken but it would be a waste of chicken, since I would have to prepare the broth separately each time.


I'll look for the Vegeta or some similar product today. Thanks you guys! :)
Oh!!! Okay. That makes a lot more sense now.

Good broth can't be made without the bones of the chicken. How many options do you have for Halal? Do you only buy the boneless skinless chicken, or other kinds as well? If you ever roast a complete chicken, you can take what's left to make stock. Here's how it's done:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000264how_to_make_chicken_stock.php

When I make stock like that, I divide it into 1/2 C portions and keep it in small containers or bags in the freezer.

But the salsa suggestion sounds tastier.
http://www.t4food.com/2007/01/09/slow-cooker-chicken-curry/

I just put this on to cook:

2 Cups of water (500mL)
2 Knoor Chicken Stock Flavour Cubes
1/2 Can Cream of Mushroom
1 Pack of Taco Seasoning
1 Chicken Breast

Have no idea how this is going to turn out. :blank:

Oh!!! Okay. That makes a lot more sense now.

Good broth can't be made without the bones of the chicken. How many options do you have for Halal? Do you only buy the boneless skinless chicken, or other kinds as well? If you ever roast a complete chicken, you can take what's left to make stock. Here's how it's done:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000264how_to_make_chicken_stock.php

When I make stock like that, I divide it into 1/2 C portions and keep it in small containers or bags in the freezer.

But the salsa suggestion sounds tastier.
http://www.t4food.com/2007/01/09/slow-cooker-chicken-curry/

I get my chicken breasts with bone. Generally I just order one or two boxes of chicken breast direct from this poultry factory. It lasts me around 2 months and saves me a ton of money as well. I got the Knoor stock chicken flavored cubes today. If that doesn't work out then I'll probably just ask my mum to make me some broth. The chicken salsa sounds tasty. I'll give that a try one of these days.
Thanks guava.

Ok, I tried cooking chicken breast with a slow cooker today. I used chicken stock, onions and garlic. Set it on low for about 9hours.
The meat was falling apart, yes. But it still was rather flavourless and dry.

Should I have used some other flavours? Maybe I should have cut the breasts into smaller pieces.

Ok, I tried cooking chicken breast with a slow cooker today. I used chicken stock, onions and garlic. Set it on low for about 9hours.
The meat was falling apart, yes. But it still was rather flavourless and dry.

Should I have used some other flavours? Maybe I should have cut the breasts into smaller pieces.

I think you're just missing the seasoning. Chicken taco seasoning works well and there are also a few others that do great too. I've used Cladereta mix (found in asian stores) and that worked pretty good. As far as the dry part, I dunno. Add water? I usually put the same amount of water as I use chicken broth. One can or one cup of each. :gl:

Yeah, taco seasoning is a reasonable off the shelf option. I prefer mixing and matching my own stuff. Tending toward tex mex with chili powder, chipotle (canned in adobo and dried powder), cumin, garlic, onions, green chilies, salsa, etc. A bit of lime juice is even an option to give it that Mexican bite.

You can even throw in stuff like green beans if you want veggies.

Alternately, a healthy marinara sauce can work, but watch the added sugar. If you really want hot, throw Rotel tomatoes in.

I love flank steak in the crock pot, too. It's a great way to cook tougher cuts of meat. See the link above to the other thread for how I do that.

We put three skinned chicken quarters in the crock pot with 1/2 c water and bbq sauce for four hours on high.....We were skeptical but I must say .... DELICIOUS!!!!! I have not tasted such good bbq since i lived in texas.
We used a hickory smoked bbq sauce it really made it I think.

If you have not tried chicken in the crock pot, you are missing out my friend.

Im going to have to try the taco seasoning recipes too...we love some tacos in this house :D

We use the SlowCooker very often. It's quick and easy, and you come out with tender meat.

We do Roast Whole chickens all the time. I usually buy bulk bags of 3 small frozen chickens.

1 Small Chicken
couple onions quartered
couple cloves garlic
spices and salt pepper rubbed on outer skin
some liquid of your choice. (water, italian dressing, chicken broth whatever.)

Cook for a long while - and done. fall off the bone tender chicken.

Also - with the carcass and leftovers - you make some chicken broth for later, or for homeade chicken soup.

EDIT : make sure you have breast side up - you don't want the breast resting in the fatty juices.

Also - here's a video link for another way of doing things. Good idea with the tinfoil.
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Secrets-of-Success-for-Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Video/Detail.aspx

great thread. after reading this i threw a split breast in with some soy and it came out great. meat was falling off the bone. will def do that on a regular basis.

OK, so it wasn't for one (like the thread is titled), but I made the following yesterday:

- 1 bag black beans (soaked the previous night, drained in the morning)
- Approx. 2 lbs chicken breasts
- 1 can chicken and rice soup
- 5 cans of water

I started the slow cooker at about 7:30 AM.
At 2:30, the wife pulled the breasts apart with a fork and added a little water that had boiled off. (It's a really dry climate here in CO)
At 6:30, we ate chicken and bean "salad".

- The mix from the crock pot
- Some fresh pico de gallo (In my case, a lot)
- Lettuce
- 2% shredded cheese

and in the wife's case...a little sour cream.