Slow Cooker Spicy Shredded Mexican Chicken — The Freezer Meal That Keeps December Sane

December is coming and I can feel it the way you feel weather — in the bones, in the schedule, in the sudden multiplication of things that need to be done. The ward Christmas party. The school Christmas concert. The Primary nativity. Ethan's teacher wants homemade treats for the class party. Olivia needs a white shirt for the concert. Mason needs a haircut. Lily needs new tights. Noah needs nothing but will require everything, because three-year-olds are black holes of need disguised as humans, and I love him with a ferocity that frightens me.

I spent Sunday prep this week thinking about December strategically. If I batch-cook heavy now — double batches, extra portions, fill every inch of the freezer — then December's chaos has a safety net. I don't have to cook on the night of the school concert. I don't have to figure out dinner after the ward party. I just have to open the freezer and pull out a bag and heat it and set the table, and the illusion of having it together holds for one more day.

Fourteen meals this week. A new record. I made four bags of taco soup because it's Noah's favorite and the boy will eat it for every meal if I let him. A double batch of chicken alfredo — pasta cooked al dente, sauce made from scratch, assembled in foil pans. Two trays of breakfast burritos, wrapped individually in foil, because December mornings are cold and dark and a warm burrito pulled from the freezer and microwaved for ninety seconds is the difference between a child who leaves the house fed and a child who eats a candy cane off the Christmas tree at 7 AM, which Lily did last year, and I'm not going through that again. A pan of cheesy potato soup. Two bags of sloppy joes. And I used the turkey stock from Thanksgiving to make a turkey noodle soup that tasted like Friday afternoon in Linda's kitchen, which is a compliment I would never give Linda directly but can admit privately to a freezer bag.

I hung the Advent calendar Monday night. It's the same felt one Mom made in 1985, with little pockets numbered one through twenty-five. I fill them with scripture references and candy, because I am a Latter-day Saint mother and we put Jesus and chocolate in everything. Lily asked if Grace has a pocket. I said Grace always has a pocket. I put a small candy heart in pocket number twenty-five and told Lily it was Grace's. She accepted this without question, the way children accept things that adults would argue about. Pocket twenty-five. Christmas morning. Grace's candy heart, waiting.

Noah’s four bags of taco soup start here — with this chicken. When I mapped out fourteen meals for December prep, this slow cooker shredded chicken became the backbone of half of them: the taco soup he’d eat every meal if I let him, the burrito filling for those cold-morning foil packets, the quick bowl I can throw together on a concert night when I just need something on the table. You make it once in the slow cooker, divide it into quart bags, and it sits in the freezer like a promise — a quiet assurance that even when pocket twenty-five rolls around and Christmas morning arrives full of everything it carries, dinner is already handled.

Slow Cooker Spicy Shredded Mexican Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 6–8 hours (low) | Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 8 (about 4 cups shredded chicken)

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 medium)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Layer the slow cooker. Place chicken breasts in a single layer in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour fire-roasted tomatoes and green chiles over the top.
2. Season. In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over the chicken and tomatoes. Pour in chicken broth.
3. Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–8 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until chicken is tender and shreds easily with a fork.
4. Shred. Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred using two forks. Return shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to coat in the juices. Squeeze lime juice over everything and stir once more.
5. Freeze or serve. To serve immediately, use as taco filling, in burrito bowls, or as a taco soup base. To freeze, divide into 1-cup or 2-cup portions in zip-top freezer bags, pressing out air. Label with the date. Freeze up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in a saucepan over medium-low heat with a splash of broth, or microwave in 60-second intervals until hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 165 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 5g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 420mg