Slow Cooker Chipotle Burritos with Homemade Pico de Gallo

Slow Cooker Chipotle Burritos

Serves 8+

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (OR 2 pounds boneless beef round steak, cut into 5 or 6 pieces)
• 16 oz. salsa
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce*
• Flour or corn tortillas
• Homemade pico de gallo (see recipe below or your favorite store-bought salsa if you’re short on time)
• Optional toppings: shredded lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, black olives, avocado, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken or beef pieces in a 3 or 4-quart crock pot. In a blender, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, and chipotle pepper. Blend for a few seconds until well mixed and pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred meat with 2 forks. Serve on tortillas with pico de gallo and optional toppings.

Money-Saving Tip: To stretch this meal even further, stir in one can drained black beans and 1 cup corn to the cooked, shredded meat. Heat through.

*You can find chipotle peppers in a can in the Mexican section of your grocery store. Since this recipe only uses 1 chipotle pepper, I like to freeze the remaining peppers from the can in ice cube trays (1 pepper per cube). Once frozen, I store them in a ziptop bag in the freezer and use as needed in recipes.

Homemade Pico de Gallo

serves 8+

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium/large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2-4 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (if you don’t like cilantro, use 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh lime (or lemon) juice
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• Salt to taste
• Cayenne pepper or finely chopped jalapeño to taste, optional (I don’t use it)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Chill for several hours before serving to allow flavors to blend. (If you prefer a smoother texture, you can pulse all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor for a couple of seconds before chilling).