Weekly meal prep can truly help alleviate some stress when it comes to food preparation, but eating the same thing every day can really start to make you feel like you're living out the classic Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. Even if you prep a couple different meals, eating the same thing in the same form daily just takes the enjoyment out of food. This got me to thinking of how we can still accomplish weekly meal prep, but change things up enough so repetitive boredom doesn't set in. Today's recipe, Slow Cooker Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken, solves our problem because it can be enjoyed in multiple forms with just a few extra steps on top of the main dish. For example, you can enjoy this cheesy and spicy chicken with a side of rice on Monday, as a taco or burrito on Tuesday, over noodles on Wednesday, as a protein bowl on Thursday, and as enchiladas to finish out the week on Friday! Unfortunately, not every dish can be this versatile, but maybe some other similar meal prep ideas will come to mind as I explain this super simple, dump and go, slow cooker recipe...Let's Get Cooking!
Thanks to the glorious invention of the slow cooker, this recipe really can't get much more simple. A few minutes of prep work, toss in the ingredients, and sit back and wait as your kitchen and house come to life with the most amazing aromas this delicious dish emits! We will begin by slicing the jalapenos into thin rounds. It is up to you whether or not you want to leave the seeds in or not, but even the hottest peppers will be cooled off and tamed in this recipe thanks to the heavy cream and cheese, so I suggest saving yourself a few minutes and just leaving them as is. Other than slicing the jalapenos, quickly dice up an onion and thinly slice your green onion tops. It's not exactly prep work, but go ahead and drain the can of corn as well since we won't be needing any extra cooking liquids.
Next, we will simply add our first 11 ingredients to the slow cooker (everything except shredded cheddar cheese, butter, AP flour, and cilantro) and kick this recipe off! The order doesn't really matter, but I would suggest starting with the chicken on the bottom then covering it with the remaining ingredients as seen below. Finish everything off with the liquids once you have added your other ingredients. I used a liner to save on clean up time, but you can make this directly in your slow cooker if you wish.
Once you have added all those ingredients, place the lid on your slow cooker and set it to cook on High for 3 hours. You can certainly cook this on Low overnight for 8 hours, but I think the textures are a little better cooking on High for this particular recipe. After 3 hours are up, add all that tasty shredded cheese and give everything a good stir to mix everything around and make sure the cheese is fully submerged to help it melt into ooey-gooey goodness! This is also the point where you will want to melt the butter in a microwave-safe cup or bowl and combine it with the AP flour. Whisk this mixture until it becomes a thick paste before pouring it into the slow cooker. This acts as a roux and will help thicken and tighten up our Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken "Soup." Give everything once last thorough stirring and replace the lid for one more additional hour of cook time.
After a total of 4 hours, your Slow Cooker Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken is ready to devour! You can choose to leave your chicken pieces whole as is or shred them so they mix throughout the cheesy sauce. You can basically leave them in the slow cooker and take a couple forks to dig around and pull the chicken apart without much fuss or hassle. Either way, whole or shredded, the chicken should be super tender and delicious coated with the flavorful spicy cheese sauce and seasonings!
That's it for this simple slow cooker dinner, folks! The liquids should have thickened up and tightened to somewhere between a chowder-like consistency and a thick cheese sauce. Serve your Slow Cooker Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken hot topped with some cilantro and extra jalapeno slices for an extra kick of heat and freshness! I realize many of you may be thinking that this recipe is too hot and spicy, but believe me when I say it ends up being quite mild after it's all said and done. I would equate it to some spicy nacho cheese sauce you dip tortilla chips in and most people can tolerate that level of heat, eh? Anyway, give it a try once and let me know what you think. There is plenty of room to add more veggies like bell peppers or green beans, etc etc so tweak away and make it fit your tastes! Like I said in the introduction, you can also enjoy this recipe in a multitude of ways so get creative and liven up your enchiladas or burritos next time with this tasty chicken. As long as you get in the kitchen and make something tasty, I as well as everyone around you, will be happy with full bellies.....Just Keep Cooking!
SLOW COOKER JALAPENO CHEDDAR CHICKEN
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