Accidental Taco Soup. A Slow Cooker Miracle!

Nope. No post yesterday. I was doing so well, wasn't I? It's been a strange week. I haven't been feeling 110% percent. Still looking for something to do with my time (apparently blogging about your health is NOT a viable career). Also, I have been a little obsessive about the dog since the incident chronicled in the post: Dog Pounds.

Not to mention my mother-in-law will be in town this weekend coming back from an extended stay in the Philippines AND it's her birthday AND two of my nieces are getting their black belts. I have some very special, very high calorie desserts planned for this weekend. Definitely more Cajun than California. So clearly I am happily, joyously busy! I've had this weekend in the planner for a while!


Before I get into the sweet of the weekend, here's a little savory.

Preface: I was not trying to make soup, thus the name Accidental Taco Soup. I was TRYING to make seasoned chicken that I would then put in a tortilla and eat with said cheese and sour cream. In my wild imagination the slow cooker KNOWS what I'm trying to do when I turn it on and I just throw things in there willy nilly. That's the truth. Once I discovered the slow cooker I just went wild. The result is that sometimes I end up with a crock pot full-a-crazy OR amazing awesomeness...


Accidental Taco Soup

Servings: 4 Time: Prep 5 minutes. 4 hours in the slow cooker on high or 6-8 low.

Bowl-Fulla-Awesome

Per Serving Stats: 
(depends on how much chicken you use AND does not include sour cream or cheese)

Calories - 210
Carbs - 36g
Fat - 15g


WHAT YOU NEED

Frozen Chicken Breasts

Taco seasoning packet

Salsa (1 cup)

And if you like:

Shredded Cheese

Light Sour Cream

Some people weigh their chicken breasts. I just look at them and know, ya know? I put in 4 big ones or 5 little ones. There are low sodium taco seasoning packets out there. Get them!


WHAT YOU DO

-Spray the inside of your slow cooker for easy clean up.

-Place the frozen chicken in the crock pot and cover with a cup of salsa.

-Mix separately 2/3 c of water with your taco seasoning and then add to the slow cooker.

-Walk away

-Periodically check on the chicken and start cutting it with a metal spoon while it's in the slow cooker.

-Serve in a bowl with shredded cheese and sour cream if you like!

 

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THESE INGREDIENTS?
There are no specialty ingredients here. Yay!

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
It's delightful. Easy. And in case you missed it pretty high in the carbs and kinda high in the fat. But also cheap! Three out of five ain't bad right? 

XO Andrea

Channeling my internal George Michael Bluth - Frozen Banana Ice Cream

Two weeks ago I made a speedy trip to Louisiana and upon my return I realized the 3 lbs of bananas purchased before I left were almost completely gone. Only about four were left and within a day or two just two little nanas were left. Then they started to look reaaaallly sketch, like they might go bad in a few days.

There's always money in the banana stand!

Like a true healthy visionary I thought, "I will totally freeze these and make something amazing later!"


I really wanted to have a George Michael Bluth moment. Please tell me you've watched Arrested Development. The show single handedly saved the frozen banana industry! (That's not true, but I'm inventing my own facts today because it's Friday Y'all!)


Without much thought, I peeled them first which turned out to be the only smart thing I did. After our wedding a year ago we got a "yonana machine" which turns bananas into yogurt. Very effective but very loud. The first step is to freeze the banana which is exactly what I did...peel and all. What. An. Idiot. If you've ever tried to peel a frozen banana you know how stupid and painful it can be. If I get a tingling sensation in my fingers I always assume it's side effects of frozen banana induced frost bite.


The one mistake I made was that I did not cut the bananas into little pieces first or shove a stick in them. Apparently if you want to do something cute or fun with a banana you have to think about it ahead of time. Booo....


Since not everyone has a yonana, a food processor or the foresight to cut the dang banana first. I'm going to do something most people should be able to do...

A blender. 2 nanas. Semi sweet chocolate chips. Maximum easy.

I'm going to put them in the blender and eat whatever comes out. 


 I have a lot of baking stuff just hanging around so I threw a tablespoon of semisweet chocolate into the blender as well.

It was so loud I actually unplugged the blender, went into the guest room and shut the door. I didn't want to wake up Husband who has been working 12 hour shifts and explain that on a whim I wanted to play with frozen bananas.


I wouldn't even call this a recipe. It's literally bananas and a piece of chocolate.


The verdict? Meh.

The final product. Impressed? Meh...

It tasted like a cold, mushed banana and chocolate. Nothing to write home about or write a blog about even (so why are we here?). I've actually put the exact same things in a yonana and that stuff tasted like chocolate ice cream. What is in that yonana?!?!

The concoction ended up being 220 calories. What. A. Waste.


I guess if you're craving something sweet this is a good alternative but I have to say that 220 calories in a serving of faux ice cream does not please me. Especially when I can get a smaller fix of real ice cream. If you're a more the merrier person this is a good idea for you. You definitely get more in a serving than you would if you had 220 calories of ice cream.

To be honest, I didn't even finish it. It was that...unsatisfying.

I guess Maeby we aren't all meant to be George Michael Bluth. (See what I did there?)


XO, Andrea