Mexican Chicken Stew...in a Slow Cooker

 

We are still settling in to our new home and our new "retired" lifestyle here in Grand Etang, Cape Breton. Meeting neighbours, making new friends, volunteering, playing with horses and sheep, learning Acadian French, learning to Rug Hook the Cheticamp way, inadvertently starting a busy new business making felted soaps (check out my work on Instagram @theshearingfeltco... unabashed plug.) We had a new barn/garage built that is probably bigger than our home and most likely the talk of the town. We are loving our new life...in spite of the winds (known as Les Suetes) It's starting to feel like home. I always thought that when I retired (or quit as the case may be....yup I'm a quitter, there, I said it), I would finally be able to sit down and write my heart out. It was the one thing I was kinda good at I thought. While I was working, my brain just never stopped, a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts, thinking about how my day went, what I said, what I really wanted to say, what I would rather be doing, what I would rather NOT be doing. Writing was a huge stress reliever for me. I had things to "get out." It was/is cathartic. And now that I'm here living this new adventure...well of course my brain is still a whirl of what I said, what I meant to say, what I should have said, what I most certainly should not have said, what I should really do, should I unfollow this FB page, do I really need to leave the house today, do these stretchy pants go with this stretchy shirt, did I remember to brush my teeth today???? Anxiety is always a guest that overstays his/her welcome but how much it influences me has definitely changed. It's more of a whisper than a shout. When Anxiety is not dictating my life, writing is much much harder to do. A complete surprise to me. I also find it harder to choose the right words or even just finding ANY words really ....a combination of the Pandemic, social isolation (which I quite relished being an introvert but there clearly are healthy mental limits I suppose), and physical isolation by moving a few thousand kilometres away to a new life where our neighbours are either down the road or back in Ontario for the Winter instead of a few feet right beside us. Apparently age and peri-menopause/menopause is also a contributing factor in "word issues" but I choose to ignore that for the moment thank you very much and please never ever ever bring it up unless you are my sister or my Mom. 

Suffice to say, I'm finding I have much less to say with much less emotion at the moment. I guess that's a good thing? I'm happy. We're happy. We feel settled. We are at home. We are involved. And sometimes I cook and make something yummy. And I will write about it so that you can also make something yummy and be happy.  This is a good recipe. Your house will smell delicious while it cooks. It's flavourful and will make you feel very happy and satisfied when you sit down to dinner with your most favourite people or person.  And you can share it with others if you wish. Simple pleasures in life. What else can you ask for really. Those are my words for now. Enjoy!

Cheers from Bistro 164/415

Mexican Chicken Stew... in a Slow Cooker

adapted from https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/slow-cooker-mexican-chicken-stew/

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless and skinless (we used 2 lbs of boneless chicken breast...worked just fine but next time we will use thighs for even more flavour and moisture)

2 carrots, diced

1 medium sized onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 cup of frozen corn

1 540 pls can of black beans, drained and rinsed

127 ml can of green chiles

3/4 cup of quality salsa, the chunkier the better

1 1/2 cups of chicken stock

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of chili powder

1 tsp of coriander

a dash or two of red pepper flakes

salt to taste

Toppings

Shredded cheddar cheese

avocado

lime wedges

some chopped cilantro

a dollop of sour cream or yogourt

Instructions (Slow Cooker) 

Combine all of the ingredients in the Slow Cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Ours was done closer to 4 to 5 hours.

Once cooked, take out the chicken and shred with two forks then add back in to the stew. Just before serving, add in juice from half a lime and select your toppings. Super Easy Peasy.