This was an easy dish that I took to a church luncheon. It is just delicious and is very simple to adjust to your tastes and what you have on hand in your pantry. Somehow the chicken and black beans felt more like a spring/summer kind of chili. I left some of it at home for us to enjoy later, and it was excellent with a Fat Tire beer. Perfect out-on-the-patio supper!* 3-4 chicken breasts - cut in half, or thirds if large
* 15 oz. canned black beans, drained
* 15 oz. canned pinto beans, drained
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1-2 tsp. cumin
* 16 ounces salsa - I ended up using about 1 1/2 pints of my homemade salsa
* 1 C bell peppers, chopped (frozen works too if you need a shortcut)
* 1 jalapeno, chopped or 1 medium long green chili, chopped
* 1 C chopped onion
* 1 C frozen corn
* salt and pepper if needed - I didn't use any
* Garnishes - fresh cilantro, sour cream, shredded Manchego cheese, chopped green onions, or anything else that pleases your family. I served this with blue corn chips and it was great!
Place all ingredients into crock-pot, placing chicken pieces on top. I pushed them down slightly into the liquid ingredients so they would cook well, but I wanted to be able to retrieve them easily later on. Cook for 6 hours on low, or 4 hours on high. Remove chicken from the crockpot to a cutting board and check for doneness with a thermometer (should be 165 F per USDA). Shred chicken pieces and put back into crock-pot and let them heat through for another 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve.
***Note - For the potluck, I shredded the chicken, stirred it back into the chili, then moved the entire mixture into a casserole dish and refrigerated it overnight. At the potluck, I placed the casserole into a medium oven to re-heat, and it was nice and bubbly by the end of the morning service. Of course this might vary according to how long your pastor preaches!
