In participating in just about any race, one can often count on, at the very least, one aid station supplying some type of sustenance - perhaps water, Gatorade, or GU packets.
Unfortunately, aid stations do not exist on our real life "roads." There's no friendly volunteer waiting to hand me a a plate of lasagna, no finisher's chute bag of replenishing snacks. Turns out that part of being a grown-up (and one who often has to do the cooking in the household, ahem... ) is putting a decent meal on the table once in a while.
I've found it difficult in the past to be the chef of our house, mostly because there are currently only two members of said home (three, if you include Baxter, but she seems to have developed a fondness for Purina Indoor Cat Food), but also because, since childhood, I've been extremely picky about what I eat.
Compound all of that with the lack of creativity and time, and you've got a couple who depends on real restaurants, sandwiches, and frozen entrees for "meals".
Thus, my commitment to the kitchen and to a new feature of this blog. One task I'd love to get better at this year is preparing quick and healthy, but mostly delicious, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks for myself and my better half. I shall chronicle this journey of Kitchen Zero to Kitchen Hero in a series of recipes (and my experiences making them) called From the Aid Station. Recipes posted here will be simple and tasty and will be shared in hopes that you stop by the Aid Station whenever you need something quick to keep you eating healthfully at home.
Today's recipe comes from the blog Smashed Peas and Carrots. Maggie, the blogger responsible for this awesome site, often posts the most mouth-watering dishes, and this one was no exception. You can view the original recipe here. I love this recipe because it's
1) Nearly effortless
2) Full of protein
3) Delicious as leftovers, too
4) Thrown together with pretty common ingredients
Crockpot BBQ Pulled Chicken
1.5 lbs chicken breasts ( I used 3 large ones from Whole Foods)
1 18 oz. bottle of BBQ sauce (I used a Jack Daniels sauce we happened to have in the fridge)
3/4 c. Italian dressing (We also happened to have some Wishbone dressing)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Place chicken in the Crockpot, and pour sauce over to cover. Set on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 (I went for low for about 7.5 which seemed just a tad too long, but still yummy).
Everything all mixed together and ready to go. It looks kind of icky here, but I promise the end results are tasty! I used Reynolds Crockpot liners - amazing for cleanup!
When it's done cooking, get ready to shred it up. I put the chicken into a separate bowl (so I wouldn't scratch the Crockpot) and quickly pulled it apart (and literally, it just fell apart). There was lots of sauce left in the pot, so I added that as I shredded to keep it moist. I toasted the buns, too.
All done!
Doesn't that look yummy? Almost as good as Slow's downtown... almost.
We ate the sandwiches with crispy garlic oven fries that I got in the frozen food section at Kroger, but have also found at Trader Joe's. Yummy!