Slow Cooker Chicken Tortillas

What is it with kids these days? What is wrong with the youth of this generation? Don't they know there are Starving kids in China who would kill for one morsel of their most dreaded meal?

And why doesn't explaining that to my kids have any effect?

They stagger to the dinner table like they're on their way to the electric chair. Even if what awaits is a mystery, they know it's not going to be lucky charms, so pretty much every other option known to man will be a disappointment to at least 1/3 of those ungrateful little..

And then one day, a miracle happened.

I didn't have to go through the process of eating with my 11 yr old, who seams to have short term memory loss.

"Ok honey, remember? get some food on your fork, then put it into your mouth.. oops, try again and this time close your mouth around your fork before you pull it out. Good. Now move your jaw up and down with the food between your teeth. This is called chewing. Now swallow.. There's a party going on in your tummy and that food REEEEALLY wants to go. Ok, now let's try it again. Is there something wrong with your eyes? They keep rolling around your sockets and it looks really uncomfortable."

I didn't have to set the timer for my 9 yr old.

"I guess you need practice if it's too hard to eat mashed potatoes. Tell you what, I'll set the timer for 5 minutes, and if it's not gone, I'll add to it for extra practice."

I didn't have to spoon feed my 4 yr old.

I didn't have to send anyone to bed.

"THAT'S IT!!! If you aren't going to eat, there's no point in being at the table. good night!"

I didn't have to make a lovely meal to basically transfer directly into plastic containers, and refrigerate.. except for what I ate out of the pot.

"I guess I'm not very hungry after my $50 steak at my lunch appointment with grown-ups at a swanky restaurant.. what did you have for lunch? Oh, you didn't have time for lunch?"

That last one was my husband.

..Not that those ALL happen, ALL the time. It's usually "You don't have to eat anything, but this is dinner, and there is no other option."

Sometimes I get bored with that and need to spice it up with aforementioned threats.

But like I said, One day, A miracle happened. While I was at the grocery store, I grabbed a Fix-It and Forget-It magazine, in the checkout line. I skimmed it and thought what the heck, and tossed it into the pile of Items waiting to be purchased, prepared, and scraped into the garbage. Upon closer examination, I decided to try Chicken Tortillas, because of the simple list of ingredients, and quick/easy prep. When It came time for dinner, and the inmates drug their feet into the kitchen and plopped their hopeless little bodies in front of their plates, there were a few extra grumbles and moans and even a desperate cry to the heavens, "WHY," from our melodramatic middle child.

And then Something happened.

The room grew quiet.

There were only the sounds of utensils on dinnerware.. Oh, sweet music to my ears, and then just when I thought it couldn't get any more strange, They all started to dish up seconds. SECONDS! I am not exaggerating when I say that I don't think that has ever happened before. By my kids (excluding pizza/mac n' cheese).. at least not by all 3.

VICTORY IS MINE!!!

Ok, I'll give you the recipe. It might not be that great. It just happened to be a crowd pleaser for us.

First, I'll tell you the adaptions I made..

I used homemade, whole wheat tortillas. I'm sure store bought would work just fine, but I wanted to make mine so that I could use the extras in my lunch.

This is how excited my 9 yr old was about the tortillas (which taste DELICIOUS btw)

Then I used this recipe instead of cream of chicken soup. (Has anyone else noticed that what used to be creamy is now corn starchy?) It has a good consistency, and I can't tell a difference in cooking. Obviously cheaper, and beans are nutritious.

Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup Recipe:

• Grind 4 T of any white bean (lima, navy, etc.) to make 5 T bean flour (on course setting)
• Combine: 5 T bean flour, 1 ¾ c. water , 4 t chicken bouillon into a saucepan
• Cook: On stovetop at medium temperature until thick and delicious (whisk frequently).The soup should cook in 3 minutes! (this may be longer if your grinder makes a very coarse flour).

I had shredded chicken in a baggie in the freezer, so that saved a lot of time as well. I cook as many chicken breasts as will fit in my crockpot with a little water, garlic salt, onion (fresh would work, but I use dried onion flakes from my food storage.) and pepper, until it comes apart easily, and then shred it. I put the shredded chicken in little freezer baggies by 1-2 cups. (I do tend to season it well. I don't like chicken that tastes too much like poultry.)

Chicken Tortillas

2 cups shredded chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup (or the above recipe)

(14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes, drained

(7 oz) can diced green chilies, drained

6 (6 inch) tortillas (torn if needed)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cups grated cheese (cheddar, mexican blend..)

1. Combine chicken, soup, chilies, and tomatoes. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.

2. Line bottom of slow cooker with 1/3 tortilla pieces. Add 1/3 chicken mixture, sprinkle with 1/3 onion, and 1/3 cheese. Repeat layers twice.

3. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hrs. Garnish if desired.

Oh, let's not forget about recipe friday. The theme is, hmm.. Let's go with the theme of crock pot. It's spring, and who want's to come in early from the back yard to heat up the house by making dinner?. Remember; no sugar, no processed recipe.