Bajio Chicken and Crockpot Refried Beans

 

This chicken is supposedly a copycat recipe of the chicken served at the Tex-Mex resturant Bajio, but since I haven't been there in a long time I can't tell you if it is a match. What I can tell you is that this is easy and delicious. It melts in your mouth- hence why my friend Laura dubbed this "Melty Chicken".

I paired this with equally easy and healthy refried beans. While beans do take a long time to cook- these can be done over night in a crockpot. So the the actual work time is very minimal. These use no oil, but taste like the canned kind (which is full of oil). The recipe makes quite a lot (about 6 cups), but the extra can be frozen and reheats quite nicely.  Just remember to save the liquid drained off the beans, or the recipe won't work.

Overall a delicious and relatively healthy meal. 

Bajio Chicken

(from Real Mom Kitchen)

5 chicken breasts
1/2 cup medium salsa
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies (I wanted more heat and so I added the larger can- think it was 7 oz)
6 oz. lemon-lime soda

Mix all the ingredients together in a crockpot and cook for 5-6 hours on low. Remove the chicken, shred it, and return it to the crockpot for another hour.  Serve on flour tortillas with your choice of taco toppings.

Crockpot Refried Beans

(from Real Mom Kitchen)

3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed (rinsing is important, since dry beans are generally dirty)

1 onion diced

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for eight hours.  When done,  drain the beans and save the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding small amounts of the drained liquid until the desired consistency is reached. They will thicken over time, so make them a little runnier then needed. Top with grated cheese as a garnish  or refrigerate/ freeze to reheat latter.