Thinking on My Feet: The case of the Texan Shredded Chicken

One of the things that I miss a lot from Ohio is shredded chicken.  The strange thing is that I would really only eat it two or three times a year.  It was a standard for potlucks or any sort of party (graduation, baby/bridal shower, going away party, whatever excuse we came up with), so that was the main time I would have it.  A drive in ice cream place near me would make it too, so when I could resist their pizza burgers (a recipe for another day, I'm sure), I would get it. 

Since I had it so rarely, I don't know why I want it so much.  But I do.  I really, really do.  I had a random, horribly, crazy craving for it last semester, and I called my dad to get the recipe from our old elementary school cookbook.  Then I ate it everyday for a week.  I'm pretty sure that it was more than I had ever had it before. 

This time, I dropped a can of chicken.  Really, what else could I do but make shredded chicken?  However, this time, I decided I would try to shift it to Texas style a little. I think this is where I failed.  First, the recipe:

Texas Style Shredded Chicken

1 can of chicken breast, 10 oz.(ish...I think they are smaller now)
1 can cream of chicken soup (get the reduced sodium...not that it will make that much difference)
1 can chopped green chiles (or fresh roasted or frozen ones)
1/4 cup crushed potato chips (I used salt and pepper kettle chips; jalapeno would also be great)
1 tsp Hot Shot (ground red and black pepper)

Add a can of chicken to a slow cooker or pot.  I am using a small slower cooker here.

 Then add a can of cream of chicken soup.

 Follow that by a can of chiles.

Crush the potato chips and add them to the slow cooker.  I added the Hot Shot here too.

Cook on low for four hours.  It can stay in there longer.  If you are simmering it on the stove, simmer it until it reaches the consistency you want.  It should be thick enough to be put on a sandwich.

This is where it all went wrong for me.  I changed the recipe and I changed the way I usually cook it.  Today, I put it all in the crock pot, turned it on, and went back to work.  Normally, I would cook it on the stove which would allow me to add chips until it got to the correct consistency.  I did not have that option, so when I had my tater tots in the oven and my bun toasting in my cast iron skillet, I did not know that my chicken was loose and needed more chips.

So, I put the bun on the plate and started scooping out shredded chicken.  It ran over the edges and all over the plate.  I was hungry though, so I put some on the other half of the bun, threw a slice of pepperjack cheese on top, and ate it open faced.  This is not what I had intended. (But it was super yummy.)

These pictures are from the lunch I made the next day.  It did thicken up a little, but by the time I moved the plate to the living room, the shredded chicken had all run out onto the plate.  It was still yummy, but a little messier to eat than it needed to be.  I should have gone open faced again.

What am I supposed to do with the shredded chicken now?  I could add some more chips (I might even add another whole 1/4 cup...but I think the extra juices from the green chiles was the problem), but that would be too easy.  Instead, I am turning it into green chile chicken enchiladas.  It's really Texan now.

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

1/2 cup Texas Style Shredded Chicken
2 flour tortillas (I used 8-inch)
1/4 cup green enchilada sauce
2 tablespoons diced tomatoes (I used the Rotel-style tomatoes and green chiles, of course)
1/4 cup shredded Mexican Style cheese

Spray a small casserole dish (I used the same one I made my baked oatmeal in.  It is my go to pan.) 

Take a tortilla in one hand.  Put a 1/4 cup of the shredded chicken into the center.  Top it with a tablespoon of cheese.  Roll it, then place it seam down in the dish (Mine was a little long, but I went with it.).  Repeat for the second tortilla.

Pour 1/4 cup of the green enchilada sauce (red sauce would work just as well).

Sprinkle tomatoes evenly on top (you could also put them inside the tortilla).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Take them  out and add the cheese.  Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the filling is bubbling.  I used the toaster oven for mine, and it went a little more quickly. 

I was going to take a picture of a bite of these, but I couldn't control myself and just devoured the whole batch.   You can see it when you make it yourself!  Resistance is futile.