Cooking Master Class: Slow Cooker Chicken Burritos

"Master Class" might be a bit of an overstatement, but here we go anyway.

Slow cookers have always looked like a good idea to me, although slow cooker recipes... not so much. A slow cooker to me is a way of cooking where you just throw it in and leave it, maybe with the odd addition of ingredients. Therefore a recipe shouldn't include you having to use a hob or an oven for any part of it. As such I'm making it my mission to find good, and "proper" slow cooker recipes... and this one is the first big success.

So many slow cookers, so many settings. But ultimately as I wasn't really sure if one was worth it for just me I brought the Tesco own brand one for £14.

It's simple, it doesn't have any bells and whistles, and it does what it says on the tin (box?).

One dial that does warm, low, and high is all you really need. With technology as it is, it's not like you're short of the ability to remind yourself when something is done!

To the recipe!

Slow Cooker Chicken Burritos:

Serves: 6-8. Cooking time: 4 hours.

This recipe should make around 8 portions... give or take, depending on how you serve it.

- 950g chicken breasts, trimmed (4 or 5)

- 1 can red kidney beans, drained

- 1 can chopped tomatoes

- 1 can sweetcorn, drained

- 1 packet of fajita seasoning (which ever flavour takes your fancy)

- 2 packets of plain microwave rice
- 1 chicken stock pot

To serve:

- 1 pack tortilla wraps

- guacamole

- sour cream

- cheese

- lettuce

- salsa

Stage One:

1. Melt the chicken stock pot in a mug of boiling water. Pour into the slow cooker.
2. Set cooker to high.
3. Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the pan... it will splash if you drop them in!
4. Sprinkle a small amount of the fajita seasoning on top of the chicken breasts.
5. Replace the lid and cook for two hours.

That gives you two hours to mooch about doing something... power nap? Watch Jurassic World? Watch two episodes of Doctor Who and then spend half an hour going "dooooo-weeeeeee-oooooooh"? Do whatever you fancy, but after that you have to go back to the pot.

Stage Two:

1. Drain the liquid out of the pot.
2. Pour the can of tomatoes over the top.
3. Sprinkle the rest of the fajita seasoning over the top and swirl about a a bit.
4. Pour the sweetcorn over the top.
5. Put the kidney beans into the middle of the pot.
6. Leave the pot on high for another hour and a half.

Here are a couple of things that I learnt which may come in handy.

The reason I drained off the liquid is that the chicken creates a lot while it's cooking. I've had mixed results cooking with "dry" rice, which would absorb some of it, so I take the cheating route with microwave rice! It also means that you have a bit of spicy chicken stock you can use for something else... base of a soup or a pastina perhaps.

Also, the fajita seasoning will obviously mingle in with everything. But if you're feeling particularly adventurous (and I'm using that word in its loosest terms), you can pour it into the can of tomatoes and then pour it over the top of the chicken.

I've said to put the kidney beans in the middle of the pot. By this I mean don't put the beans against the edge of the pan. On high the kidney beans start to fizzle and pop when they're against the side, keeping them in the middle will pretty much stop that from happening.

Last but not least, depending on how "saucy" the tomatoes are, you might want to pour back in a little bit of the stock that you drained out.

Stage 3:

1. Remove the chicken breasts from the pot.
2. Shred the chicken and place back in the pot.
3. Add the two packs of microwave rice.
4. Stir the contents until thoroughly mixed.
5. Turn the pot down to low and cook for another 30 minutes.

By now the kitchen should be smelling yummy and your mouth is watering... don't worry, only 30 minutes until you get to eat.

The two ways of eating it are very simple... 1] stuff it in your face... 2] put lots of extra stuff on top of it and then stuff it in your face. I made this for everyone in the office, some of us made burritos and some of us just had a burrito bowl.

The "bowl" idea just seems like a way to make more washing up to me. I'm all about the burritos.

Other tips for this recipe... throw in some extra chilli powder for a bigger kick, most of the packet mixes are a little lacking in spice... and you can basically throw anything into the pot, peppers, different types of beans... if you fancy having refried beans with your serving you can make a little tin foil boat filled with them and put them in the top of the pot to heat up too.

My photographic skills leave a lot to be desires... but here are some highlights in case you were wondering what it all ended up looking like.

Happy eating!