Instant Crock Pot Classic..Even In The Summer!

A fabulous meal in the making!

For some reason, most people store away crock pots during the warmer months and I'm just not sure why. Unless you have the time to grill, the dinner alternative is using the oven or steaming up the kitchen with stove top meals. Now factor in that you are causing the air conditioning unit undo stress at the hottest part of the day and it will be evident why we need to rethink our crock pot usage.

I recently received a recipe in an email that just blew away my taste buds and sent my imagination soaring. Not sure where it originated, only know that I quickly stashed it away in my recipe folder and will take it out frequently.

Now, I love recipes that only call for a few ingredients, and this one fits that category. In fact, the only item that caused me an issue was finding the Fiesta Ranch dry mix (and you can't skip this step). I went to all of my favorite food shopping haunts, Wegman's, Shop Rite, Trader Joe's and came out empty handed (well, actually my cart was full, but minus the one thing I went in for). So you can imagine my surprise that when I Googled the product and found that (drum roll please)...Walmart carried it.

Anyway, here is this Couldn't. Be. Easier. recipe:

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 pkg of Fiesta Ranch Dip mix
1 can black beans
1 can of Rotel
1 can of corn (do not drain)
1 block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/2 cup of Frank's Hot Sauce (this is optional but strongly recommended!)

Direction:

Dump all ingredients in the crock pot (was going to call this recipe the "Magic Dump" but you can understand why I corrected my thought process). Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours. Done

So good!

How is that for ease? It not only taste amazing, the smell in your house will entice everyone to the dinner table. It is suggested that you can serve this over rice, noddles or in tortillas. I went the lower carb direction and just ate it out of a bowl. I will also use this tasty concoction as a hot dip by shredding the chicken (after its cooked) and placing it back in the pot. How great would this be using the "scooped" type tortilla chips or pita bread?  

Also keep in mind that you can spice this recipe up or down with the type of Rotel (mexican canned tomatoes, that come in original, mild or hot, hot, hot!) I am a bit of a wimp and went with the mild, which still had plenty of flavor!

So, give this summer crock pot recipe a try and let me know what you think! Me? I'm in love!