I honestly can't remember what was in the slow cooker salsa chicken stew last time beyond salsa and chicken, but I remember liking it. In the picture above, the only thing that was bought for this recipe was the chicken. This post should really be called Kitchen Clean Out Southwestern Stew for Quesadillas but that's really just too long. I picked up some "Mexican" Shredded Cheese and Whole Wheat Tortillas when I picked up the chicken thighs at Publix to round out the meal.
I love a recipe when I get a lot of product from a little bit of work, and this one fits that bill! Into my large slow cooker went a package of boneless skinless chicken thighs, both jars of salsa, the can of tomatoes with green chilies, a can of pinto beans (rinsed), a can of black beans (rinsed), a quarter of the bag of frozen corn, three lonely sweet potatoes and not pictured are the Swiss Chard stems and half of a small white onion that got added when I remembered they were in the fridge too. To the mix, I added some salt, freshly ground black pepper and Cuban oregano that I dried in the food dehydrator last summer when Hydro Harvest Farms had a few vines that were close to becoming the next Audrey a la Little Shop of Horrors. To make the stew vegetarian, just sub the chicken for some additional root vegetables or more beans depending on your preference. The stew could even be vegan, but I just don't trust vegan cheese to make vegan quesadillas.
I set all of this up in the slow cooker last night so that all I had to do today was put the crock in the slow cooker on the way out the door to work and come home to the delicious smells of dinner.
Not much to look at yet, is it? Just add cheese and greens!!!
After preheating the oven to 350 degrees, I put three tortillas on a baking sheet. On top of the baking sheet went enough hand torn Swiss Chard leaves to make a thin and even layer over one half of each of the tortillas - this turned out to be about 3 leaves per tortilla. Some well drained stew went onto the greens and some cheese went on top before the tortillas got folded and put in the oven until the cheese melted.
Here's the final product - Kitchen Clean Out Southwestern Stew Quesadillas! One and a half quesadillas were enough for me and hubby to be full and happy.
"Recipe"
1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can of black beans
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of tomatoes with green chilies
1 1/2 cups of frozen corn kernels
2 jars of salsa, minus 1/2 of each from a recipe made for a potluck
1 half of a small while onion, roughly chopped
2 cups of swiss chard stems, roughly chopped
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths
1 tablespoon of dried cuban oregano*
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Whole Wheat Tortillas
"Mexican" Shredded Cheese - about a 1/4 cup per quesadilla
Yield: A lot of stew
Final verdict: I loved it and cleaned my plate - I was full by the end of the first one and went back for half of the second anyway. Tempted by Brew polished off the the quesadillas, but by the end he was picking out the stew and cheese and left the plate with the rest of the greens on the tortilla. I think Swiss Chard in a quesadilla was just too much produce for him. Some of the rest of the stew will most definitely become quesadillas later in the week, and the remainder will get frozen for a night when cooking energy is nowhere to be found in the Seduced by Produce house. The stew all alone is going to be great for lunches!
*Do not use regular oregano, the flavor will not be the same - just leave it out if you don't have it.
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