Sweet Potato says... slow down!

I know, I know, last week we were telling dinner to hurry up and now we’re asking it to slow down. But parenting is like that, don’t you think? As much as TIME magazine covers may urge us into camps of attachment parenting or Tiger Moms or what have you, most of us don’t fit neatly into a category or approach to raising our kids, let alone making dinner. Let’s call it Whatever Works in the Moment, shall we?

Sometimes we need dinners that come together on the fly and sometimes we need dinner that greet us as we walk through the door. So, meet your new best friend: The slow cooker. Once you get over the strangeness of browning meat at 7:30 in the morning, you’ll never look back. That little bit of prep you have to do at the same time as cajoling kids to finish up breakfast will mean that coming home late from the piano recital is no biggie.

This Chicken Chili Taco is our all-time favourite slow cooker recipe because it involves next-to-no morning prep. Plus, it creates one of our favourite kinds of meals: the D.I.Y. Just put out a bunch of extras (think guacamole, diced red pepper, refried beans) on the table and let everyone build their own dinner. Who knew slowing down could buy you so much time?

Chicken Chili Tacos
Serves 4 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6) 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup prepared tomato salsa, plus more for serving 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 cup shaved montery jack cheese 8 corn taco shells fresh cilantro sour cream for serving

Method 1. Combine chicken, garlic, salsa and chili powder in slow cooker. Cover and cook on High (4 hours) or low (8 hours).

2. Remove chicken from slow cooker and place on plate. Shred chicken and then toss with juices from cooker. Serve with taco shells, cheese, cilantro and sour cream.

Want to slow down with more crock pot recipes? More recipes from sweetpotatochronicles.com:

Slow Down Chicken is goodness in a bowl. All the elements of a classic Sunday chicken dinner come together while you’re getting on with your day.

Serve this Pork and Black Bean Chili over rice for dinner and then transform it into burritos the next day for lunch.