Recipe: Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Chicken

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a fantastic start to the new week. Thanks to a combination of a ridiculous number of sick days (evil stomach virus) and a crazy snowstorm/snow day, this is actually my first full week at work since 2/21. Wow.

Not only am I back to my regular work schedule, but I'm also finally back to cooking (stomach issues have a way of making you sooo not interested in thinking about food!). A few days ago, I decided it was time to take charge of my giant pile of to-try recipes and actually make some of the dishes. I have to say that my first pick from that pile, Cafe Rio Chicken, totally knocked it out of the park - it is officially my new favorite slow cooker dish!

I've never been to a Cafe Rio before (we don't have them in Illinois), so I can't vouch for how much this actually tastes like what they serve there; however, I can say that it is seriously delicious. This flavorful chicken is super easy to make and is so versatile - it can be served over rice or a salad, in burritos or tacos, or even as a homemade pizza topper. Really, the possibilities are endless! I used the chicken several different ways (Mario and I got four days worth of dinners out of one batch) - while I enjoyed all of the meals, my favorite was over Spanish rice and topped with avocado. If you're looking for an easy to make and extremely flavorful chicken dish, I highly recommend you give this a try!

Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs chicken breasts

1/2-1 small bottle of Zesty Italian dressing (use the full bottle if you want very juicy chicken)

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 packet of ranch dressing mix, mixed with 1/2 cup of water

1/2 Tbs chili powder

1/2 Tbs ground cumin

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and stir.

2. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

3. When cooking time is done, shred the chicken with a fork and mix well with any leftover juice.