Slow-Cooker Chicken Fajitas

I am twenty-three. It happened Sunday and Gloria made a fuss and James sang off-key and the banana pudding was perfect because I made it myself and that is how you guarantee banana pudding at your own birthday dinner. I have no complaints.

The week has been ordinary in the good way. The daycare is full and my toddlers are in a good developmental groove and the October light in the afternoons through the classroom windows is the color of honey and I have been noting it on my drive home.

I made a big pot of chicken tortilla soup this week, which is a dish I developed by accident two years ago when I had leftover rotisserie chicken and a can of black beans and not much else. Now I make it properly: chipotle peppers in adobo for smokiness, fire-roasted tomatoes, black beans, corn, chicken broth, and shredded chicken, finished with a squeeze of lime and topped with crushed tortilla chips and sour cream and cilantro. It is better than the accidental version and the accidental version was already pretty good.

I have been calling DeAnna more regularly this fall. We have settled into something that feels like a real friendship now, the kind where you can call about nothing and also about something. She is studying to be a medical assistant and working at a pharmacy and she is doing well. Better than well. We talk about what it was like before and what it is like now and sometimes I think the reason those conversations are possible is that we both came out the other side of something and can look back at it from here. You need the distance before you can have the perspective.

The chicken tortilla soup I described started almost exactly the way this slow-cooker chicken recipe does — with leftover chicken, a few pantry staples, and not a lot of fuss. What I love about both dishes is that you can set them going and let the afternoon light do its thing while dinner takes care of itself. If the soup is the version I make when I want something deeply familiar, this slow-cooker chicken is what I reach for when I want that same warm, smoky payoff with even less to think about — which, in a week full of toddlers and birthday candles and good phone calls, is exactly right.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 6 hours | Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (plus 1 tsp adobo sauce)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Juice of 1 lime
6 flour or corn tortillas, warmed
Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, crushed tortilla chips

Instructions

Layer the base. Place the sliced onions and bell peppers in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Scatter the minced garlic over the top.
Season the chicken. In a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Rub the mixture all over the chicken breasts and lay them on top of the vegetables.
Add the sauce. Pour the fire-roasted tomatoes over the chicken. Add the minced chipotle pepper and adobo sauce, distributing evenly.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender enough to shred easily.
Shred and finish. Remove the chicken breasts and shred them with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker, squeeze in the lime juice, and stir everything together. Let it sit uncovered for 5 minutes to absorb the juices.
Serve. Spoon the chicken and pepper mixture onto warm tortillas and top with sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, or crushed tortilla chips as desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooker Chicken Fajitas — The Soup That Started by Accident and Became Something Worth Making Again