Slow Cooker Chicken Stew with Mexican Salsa and Black Beans

If I don’t say so myself, this is a top-notch slow cooker chicken stew.

Chicken stews aren’t new to this house, but when Mr. Mike gave this Mexican version a five star review, I knew it would make the dinner menu again in the future.

As a cook watching my calories, there are a few things I’ve learned over the years, and one is that boneless, skinless chicken breasts are often the best choice.

But when I find a value like a gigantic pack of legs and thighs at the meat counter, the package goes in the cart.

Darker chicken meat is often more tender, doesn’t dry out, and adds flavor to a dish, so I simply strip the skin and extra fat off the meat.

When I cook them down in my slow cooker, the meat literally falls off the bones, and soaks up all the seasoning I’ve added to my broth.

The addition of fresh lime and tequila (no worries, the alcohol is long gone after 6 hours of cooking), black beans and corn turn  these chicken legs and thighs into a spicy, hearty chicken stew.

Originally I’d planned on cooking the chicken down and making shredded chicken tacos. Tacos would have been amazing, but the broth was so complex and flavorful, that I couldn’t fathom throwing it down the drain, or freezing it for another dish.

(I was playing around with my camera, and couldn’t resist this fun photo. Doesn’t the avocado look amazing?)

Anyway, if you’re watching calories, the calorie count is just under 500 for 1 1/2 cups – a good portions size, but it doesn’t include the avocado, cheese, and chips. Just an FYI.

This is perrfect football watching fare for sure. Enjoy and have a terrific weekend!

~Kristi

Print Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken and Black Bean Stew

Serving Size: 6 each 1 1/2 cup servings

Shake It Up! Optional toppings (calories not included) could be tortilla chips, corn chips, cheese, sour cream, chopped avocado, chopped onion.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds chicken drumsticks
• 1 pound chicken thighs
• 2 cups salsa, chunky variety
• 1 large lime , juiced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• ⅓ cup tequila
• 1 can green chilies, chopped
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup black beans, canned, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Remove skin from chicken thighs and drumsticks.
2. Add chicken, salsa, lime juice, cumin, tequila, green chiles and chicken broth to the slow cooker and turn on high. Cook for 6 hours until chicken is cooked through and very tender.
3. Allow chicken to cool. (I place mine in the refrigerator for a few hours.) Then skim fat off the top of the pot, then remove chicken and pick meat off the bones to a bowl.
4. Add chicken and the remaining broth mixture from the pot to a soup pot, and bring to a boil over medium high. Add black beans and corn to the pot to heat through.
5. Serve with chopped cilantro.

Notes

Food energy: 493kcal Weight Watchers PointsPlus 10 Saturated fatty acids: 2.85g Monounsaturated fatty acids: 3.51g Polyunsaturated fatty acids: 2.92g Total fat: 9.29g Calories from fat: 83 Cholesterol: 237mg Carbohydrate, by difference: 19.90g Total dietary fiber: 4.95g Protein: 68.38g Total lipid (fat): 11.39g Water: 526.45g Ash: 6.34g Total sugars: 0.58g Calcium: 81mg Iron: 6.71mg Magnesium: 106mg Phosphorus: 623mg Potassium: 1248mg Sodium: 1120mg

2.6http://motherrimmy.com/slow-cooker-chicken-stew-mexican-salsa-black-beans-recipe/Mother Rimmy�s Cooking Light Done Right by Kristin A. Rimkus is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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Last updated by Kristi Rimkus at October 30, 2014.