Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad

 

  Alright so I totally failed at starting a new blog.  I guess I admit I'm a little embarrassed.  You see, I was kinda hoping that this fresh start would inspire and motivate me to regularly blog since I was starting at square one.  That, plus a lot of the posts on this here blog were old and not very well written and consisted of weird formatting... blah blah.  But then I came to realize that this blog still has a ton of recipes that I love and will always come back to... and so what if the writing is a little immature? So what if a bunch of the recipes were posted in 2010?  This blog is me and it's just a fun outlet for me to write about food that I love.  Ha sounds a little cheesy.  

I'm not gonna stick to any set posting schedule, I'm just gonna post about recipes that I've made and both my husband and I have loved when I get the chance.  I don't post anything on here that (at least) I haven't loved! My husband is a little bit pickier than I am when it comes to healthier foods but he will still eat anything I put in front of him.  I always make sure to get his opinion on everything I make because his is a different perspective than mine.  I have very broad taste buds; I love trying new things whereas my husband already knows what he likes- and that's what he wants. 

This here recipe is super yum!  It's made in a slow cooker, so it's super easy.  I altered it a bit and made a homemade BBQ sauce instead of buying the bottled kind.  You can find that homemade recipe here.  I used one whole recipe for the chicken, but you could probably get away with halving it.  I had a lot of leftover sauce in the crock pot.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad

adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff

Makes about 6 large salads

5 chicken breasts
1 recipe homemade BBQ sauce or 18 oz. bottle BBQ sauce
12 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
2 avocados, diced
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 hard-boiled eggs, diced
2 cups cheddar cheese

Other toppings you might want to add: cucumbers, red onion, green onion, bleu cheese . . . the possibilities are endless!

Directions:
Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken breasts inside and pour the bottle of barbecue sauce on top. Cover with lid and cook on low for 4-5 hours (or high for about 2 1/2 hours). Take chicken out of slow cooker and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Once chicken is cut, assemble your salads. Place about 2 cups of lettuce on the bottom of your plate and top with the vegetables/toppings of your choice. Top salad with your favorite salad dressing (Ranch, Italian, Thousand Island- whatever you want! I prefer Ranch)

Do It Yourself: Homemade Barbeque Sauce

 

Sooooo.... this is the first time I've ever made a homemade condiment!  Other than salsa, if you count that!  Did you know that most store-bought barbeque sauces have an insane amount of sugar and most have high fructose corn syrup in them?  I've decided I no longer want to buy barbeque sauce from the store because of this and also because of all of the extra, unwanted additives and chemicals they put in pretty much all processed foods.  But, this recipe is seriously SO easy! Anyone could make it.  Just throw all the ingredients in a pot, stir and simmer for 25 minutes or so.  And I have the YUMMIEST recipe idea that I will post about tomorrow or very soon... it was SO good! Liquid smoke, one of the ingredients, is something I had never bought before. It is a substance produced from smoke that is passed through water.  It's used to flavor and preserve foods.  In this recipe, it adds the distinct hickory flavor that is common to barbeque sauce.  I found it in the condiment aisle of my grocery store, I think next to the barbeque sauces, even.

Homemade Barbeque Sauce
from Skinnytaste
Makes 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons

• 1 1/3 cups tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup molasses (unsulfured)
• 2 tsp all natural hickory liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let it cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To use on grilled meat, brush onto chicken, pork or beef the last 10 minutes of cooking.