Hot Mess O' Chicken Goop

I was going to use our grill tonight. Really. For the first time this summer. We were going to have grilled marinated chicken breasts with corn and black bean salad and tomatoes from the garden. But ... I forgot to thaw the chicken overnight. Sigh. So it was chicken in the slow cooker, again. (To be honest, since in-house experiments have shown that cooking frozen boneless chicken pieces in the slow cooker ≠ death, I may never thaw chicken breasts again).

Supper wasn't very pretty, but it tasted good (a bit like deconstructed chicken enchiladas) and I couldn't stop taste-testing it while I waited for the pasta to cook. I made it by modifying the basic recipe I've been using recently -- chicken parts, cream of chicken, Neufchâtel, vegetables, and seasonings -- to include that dusty jar of Trader Joe's corn salsa I bought almost a year ago when I was on a tomato-less salsa kick. Because the corn salsa was a little sweet, I tossed in some garlicky Green Mountain Gringo for balance. Black beans just seemed like a natural accompaniment (and added fiber so I could pretend supper would be a healthy one).

Slow Cooker Creamy Salsa Chicken

Ingredients
3 completely frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
13.75 oz jar Trader Joe's corn and chile tomato-less salsa
6 oz Green Mountain Gringo roasted garlic salsa
15.5 oz can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
10.5 oz can condensed reduced-fat lower-sodium cream of chicken soup
2 oz Neufchâtel cheese, softened
Palmful of dried cilantro, if desired

Directions
Coat slow cooker insert with cooking spray. Place chicken inside.

Stir together soup, salsas, and softened Neufchâtel. Pour over chicken.

Close lid and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Using two forks, shred chicken inside slow cooker. Add cilantro and stir everything together. Serve over rice or pasta.

Serves about 4 for supper or 2 with plenty of leftovers.