Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Buffalo Chicken Tacos - crockpot style

I grew up in Rochester, NY - right around the corner from Buffalo where the original buffalo chicken wing was born. Needless to say, the buffalo wing has a special place in my heart. I love buffalo chicken sandwiches, buffalo chicken wing dip, buffalo chicken fingers...you get the picture. Not only is this recipe a healthy way for me to enjoy my beloved buffalo sauce, but it's super easy and a make-ahead-one-pot meal.

I referred to the recipe from Skinnytaste but made some changes. First of all, I need about 600 calories at dinner time so I added my favorite whole wheat high fiber tortillas (Maria & Roberto's - only 45 calories each. Score!). I also added my favorite ranch sauce/dip (recipe included and only about 20 calories per tablespoon). What would buffalo chicken be without blue cheese or ranch????

The best part of this recipe is that it can easily be kid, toddler, and baby friendly. You don't add the hot sauce until after the chicken is shredded, so put some aside for the kids and let them build their own shredded chicken tacos. My son (3 yrs old) was eating the chicken up before I could even get dinner on the table. He had a blast with building his own taco and put so many toppings on that he could barely pick it up. Ha! Even my 10 month old daughter loved the chicken.

One last thing: the recipe for the chicken is excellent if you just want a bunch of pre-cooked shredded chicken in your fridge for salads, wraps and other recipes. You could cook it every Sunday and it would make weeknight meals a breeze.

So here's my version of Buffalo Chicken Tacos with the link to the original recipe. Enjoy!
Sarah

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Tacos
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
16 oz of chicken broth or stock
2 celery stalks, left whole
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled but kept whole
1/2 cup of buffalo wing sauce
6-8 whole wheat high fiber tortillas
6-8 lettuce leaves, I used green leaf lettuce
Shredded cheddar
Shredded carrots, chopped tomatoes, or other veggie toppings
Low fat ranch or blue cheese (I mix 1 cup 2% Greek yogurt with 1.5 T hidden valley ranch seasoning - no one ever knows its good for you)

Place chicken, broth, onion, garlic, and celery in crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours. Remove the chicken and reserve 3/4 cup of the broth. Shred the chicken (it just falls apart). Return 3 cups of shredded chicken to the crockpot and save the rest for the kids or for salad toppings. Add 1/2-3/4 cup broth and the wing sauce to the crockpot, stir and cook on high for 30 min. Add enough broth to the chicken so that it won't dry out...you want some sauce in the end. While the chicken absorbs the flavors, prep the toppings and sides. Then build your tacos with one tortilla, a leaf of lettuce (should cover the tortilla), 1/2 cup of chicken, and any additional toppings you choose. Each taco has approximately 200 calories (without cheese or dressing added). Yummy!

Serve with steamed broccoli or some other green veggie.
Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/crock-pot-buffalo-chicken-lettuce-wraps.html





2 comments:

  1. This sounds divine! I'm always on the look out for new ways to prepare chicken and this sounds great! Thanks for posting this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are welcome! Hope you enjoy!

    ReplyDelete