Cooking Chicken Breasts

My favorite way to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts is in the crockpot. The chicken ends up tender and easy to shred, which I prefer to chunks for soups, casseroles, pizza, quesadillas, salads, and most other recipes. I never need to worry about whether the chicken is done all the way through--as long as it shreds easily and it isn't pink inside, it's done (or you can use a meat thermometer if you're still worried). I like to cook a couple of lbs. at a time and freeze the cooked, shredded chicken in about 2 cup servings to be used in future recipes. I thaw it overnight in the fridge or on defrost in the microwave if I'm in a hurry. You can start with fresh or frozen chicken--frozen will take a little longer than fresh.

How to cook:
--Cook on low for 7-10 hours OR
--Cook on high for 3-5 hours
You can add any desired seasonings or sauces either before you cook or after you shred.
You don't need to add any water, but I recommend a couple of tablespoons to a 1/4 cup if you are going to leave it on for longer end of the time ranges so it stays tender.
Once you use your slow cooker several times, you'll have a better idea of how long it will take. I cooked about 2.5 lbs. on high today in about 4.5 hours. If I'm going to cook it overnight or while I'm at work, I cook it on low. Try to use an appropriate size crockpot for the amount of chicken so you don't have to worry about overcooking. I use a mini crockpot (1.5 qt?) for 1 lb, but will use the bigger one (6 qt.) for any more than that. It is recommended to fill your crockpot at least 1/2 full, but no more than 3/4 full, but I've broken both those rules and didn't have any problems.

How to use:
In any way that you'd use cooked chicken. We made buffalo chicken quesadillas in the skillet today. Our favorite way to use shredded chicken is for Garlic Pepper Chicken Pizza or Santa Fe Soup (look for the recipes in future posts).

Want lots of crockpot recipes? Check out A Year of Crockpotting. Stephanie committed to and blogged about making a different crockpot recipe everyday in 2008. She completed her goal and continues to post new recipes as she makes them. She has tips and faqs for using the crockpot, as well as all of her recipes (successes and failures).