A couple of weeks ago I discovered this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Quinoa. It sounded delicious but, since it takes only three hours in the slow cooker, timing is a little tricky. Earlier this week I found myself home for the day by 3 PM, so that worked out perfectly.
The recipe is from an unfamiliar website, Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen, but it sounded good and made sense when I read it though. Last week I had a slow-cooker soup recipe from an unknown website fail, so was a little leery of going that route again.
I needn't have worried...
I needn't have worried...
As usual for any new recipe, I followed the directions exactly as written. The quinoa was cooked to perfection in three hours and I thought the seasonings were just about right, too. Served with a tossed green salad, this was a great meal. My husband wasn't a fan initially, but I put some of the casserole in a warm flour tortilla wrapped burrito-style (something the recipe suggests doing with leftovers) and he was much happier.
Changes for next time? The ground chicken seemed to get lost in the quinoa, so I'll try shredded rotisserie chicken instead. I will also be sure to have a ripe avocado on hand!
Have you had any new recipe successes lately?
Have you had any new recipe successes lately?
3 hours in the crock pot can be tricky. This sounds good, though.
ReplyDeleteKathy - The 3 hour slow cooker time was the hardest part of this recipe!
DeleteYeah, that 3-hour window is definitely tricky, but since I work from home, I have a good chance of pulling this off. I like the idea of using shredded chicken instead of ground too.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know what you mean about using unknown websites, but someone has to test things out for the rest of us. :))
Beth F - I have several food blogs and websites that I trust, but have also been fooled a couple of times. I can usually tell be reading through a recipe if there's a problem, but last week's soup was a disappointment. May have been the type of wild rice I selected though.
DeleteI do as you said, follow directions for any new recipe. Sometimes that works and other times you wonder if they ever tested it. Yours was clearly a success.
ReplyDeleteThe 3 hour recipes are difficult for me as I'm at work all day then the commute. It may work one weekend for me though! Thanks for sharing this one.
Tina - This would have to be a weekend recipe for you, but it was very good leftover, too.
DeleteI haven't used my slow cooker all that much at all yet but I still haven't tried to use it for what it's for...having a hot dinner ready when I get home from work! :) I like the sound of this for a weekend, though!
ReplyDeleteAudrey - There are some things the slow cooker does well and other types of recipes that disappoint me every time. If you can work out the three hour window, this was very good!
DeleteI love your idea of using rotisserie chicken and adding some avocado. I will definitely try this out, as I hope to prepare more dinners at home 2016
ReplyDeleteMolly - The avocado was my daughter's idea, but that would have been a perfect topping! This might be the first time I've ever used ground chicken. It was good, but just sort of disappeared into the quinoa.
DeleteLove finding good slow cooker recipes. Thanks for sharing this one along with your honest reactions and tips.
ReplyDeleteJama - I'm always on the lookout for good slow cooker recipes. It's a treat to have a hot meal ready at the end of the day:)
DeleteThis sounds yummy and I like something I would like. I've been wanting to try some recipes for lunch and quinoa generally heats up well. The 3 hour time span is definitely tricky but since I'm at home all day I can manage it if I remind myself what time I need to get it started!
ReplyDeleteKatherine - We had this leftover for lunch a couple of days and it still tasted good!
DeleteThis one sounds really good and healthy!
ReplyDeletePatty - It was!! And so easy, too.
DeleteI've had very mixed results with my slow cooker - part of it is that it is too big I think. Cheers from Carole's Chatter!
ReplyDeleteCarole - I'm always amazing at how much individual slow cookers can differ in cook times... the big ones seem to take less time.
DeleteThat turned out beautifully -- love the color!
ReplyDeleteJoy - And it tasted as good as it looked :)
DeleteThat looks delicious and so appealing. I wonder if beef or pork can be substituted; I'm not a fan of chicken. Their revoking my Southern lady status for that, I'm sure. ;)
ReplyDeleteKathy - LOL! I'm sure ground beef would be good, too.
DeleteOh yum! I could definitely make and eat this :)
ReplyDeleteSamstillreading - It doesn't get much easier than this :)
DeleteLooks excellent! Re crock pots, I have noticed that they vary even among themselves so much that it makes it really difficult to plan!
ReplyDeleteJill - Very true! I've had a few over the years and it always takes a few recipes to get to know them ;-)
DeleteVicki - This combination of ingredients is always a hit around here!
ReplyDeleteOooh, this sounds good! In general, I have an iffy relationship with quinoa, but I think this might convince me otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAndi - I've been on a quinoa kick latterly... ever since I discover that Butternut Squash Quinoa recipe I posted in the fall.
DeleteThis sounds delicious and something that would be good to throw in the crockpot on a weekend afternoon. However, my husband would probably roll his eyes at the thought of eating quinoa. Maybe I just won't tell him what it is. ;) I'll be sure to serve it with tortillas and lots of avocados or guac. Maybe he'll just think it's rice. Ha!
ReplyDeleteLes - I ended up making this again with rotisserie chicken and it was SO much better! Had it for lunch most of the week and didn't even bother with tortillas.
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