Drunken Cajun Chicken

When looking for a new slow cooker recipe, I generally ask myself a few quick questions >>

1. How long does it take to prepare? This includes both prep time and finishing things up.

2. How much does it cost to make?

3. How well do the ingredients hold up cooking all day, without being stirred? (potatoes = good. Mushrooms = bad.)

4. How much food does it make?

And most importantly:

5. Is it something new? Something different? Something other than roast and vegetables?

This Drunken Cajun Chicken recipe passes the test with flying colors, AND its crazy delicious. Preparation time? 10 minutes, literally, to prepare as it goes in. 1 minute, literally, to finish up for serving. Unless you count the rice, which of course takes about 20 minutes.

Cost? Dirt cheap. 3 chicken breasts = $4.50. 2 cans of tomatoes = $1.20. The beer, olive oil, and spices are freebies. (Rice is too, we buy it in bulk.) That's $5.70 total, for 2 people, for 2 nights. That's dinner for a buck-forty-three.

Ingredients hold up great. There's plenty of food. And its not roast and vegetables.

Aaaand it makes your house smell too good to be true when coming home from work at 5:15 pm in an irritable mood.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Drunken Cajun Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts

2 cans (15 oz) stewed tomatoes

drizzle olive oil

1 can light beer

2 tsp cayenne

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp black pepper

sprinkle of salt

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp basil

2 whole bay leaves

steamed rice

1. Put everything from chicken through bay leaves into the slow cooker. Stir around a bit.

2. Cook on low 6 hours.

3. Shred with a fork before serving; this takes only a minute as the chicken is so tender.

4. Serve over steamed rice.