I hope everyone has had a good week and maybe had a chance to use the 5 second rule from last weeks blog.  This week I have something very different to share…so I think pretty much everyone has now heard of “Stoptober”, when lots of brave souls decide to quit smoking or drinking for the month, but I’ve never heard of “Crocktober” until a few days ago – have you?

“Crocktober” is a whole month dedicated to celebrating the humble slow cooker in all its glory – or the crock pot as our friends across the pond call it.

I absolutely love Halloween so the month of October is one I always look forward to.  Even though the weather has started to turn and the nights are drawing in there is something very comforting that gives you a feeling of smugness when setting up the slow cooker first thing.  Just knowing that later on the house will smell amazing and not only will that nights evening meal be a doddle but so will lunch for the next couple of days.

Today’s snippet to share is so simple that to call it a recipe is a bit of a stretch to be honest.  A couple of months ago I was looking for inspiration for a healthy low carb recipe that I could make in the slow cooker – up popped a recipe for slow cooked pulled pork but I wanted something simpler and a bit healthier so I googled shredded chicken…I never knew of such a thing but now it’s so obvious I can’t believe I haven’t tried it before – it’s since become a go to regular and one that I have shared with a couple of friends already – it really couldn’t be simpler.

Ingredients

• Uncooked Chicken breasts – 4 to 6 depending on size and how much you want to make
• Chicken stock cube
• Boiling water
• Salt & Pepper

Method

• Turn on the slow cooker (crockpot)
• Place the chicken straight in and season with salt & pepper
• Throw in a chicken stock cube
• Cover with plenty of boiling water

Seriously, that’s it!  Depending on your timing preference pop on the lid and leave it to do its magic.  I have done this for 6-7 hours on low but you can do it for less time on high if you are in a hurry or a combo of high for a short time then down to low.

Once the chicken is cooked it will easily fall apart, just scoop out the chicken and shred with a couple of forks placing it all in a bowl.  To keep the chicken juicy you can pour on some of the left over stock and you can spice things up at this point adding spicy sauce, BBQ sauce or really anything you want.  Reserve the left over stock – there is a bonus recipe below.

I like to serve mine in little gem lettuce leaves topped with radish and baby tomato, hubby likes his with roast vegetables in a wrap.  I reserve some for my daughter before any spice is added – you can add it to pasta or serve in a bun. It makes a ton of shredded chicken, always plenty left over for a couple of really quick salads for work the next day.

Even after saving some for lunches there is always plenty left over, I am sure you could google a better recipe but this works just fine for me and who doesn’t love a great bowl of soup at this time of year?

Bonus recipe – Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

Ingredients

• Leftover shredded chicken
• Leftover chicken stock
• Extra chicken stock
• Tinned sweetcorn (creamed if you can get it)
• 3-4 tsp corn flour mixed with 150ml cold water
• 1 egg (whisked)
• Sesame oil (optional)
• Seasoning

Method

• Heat the leftover chicken stock in a large pan on the hob
• Add leftover shredded chicken
• Add creamed sweetcorn
• Add extra chicken stock if required (I just wing it by eye)
• Once piping hot remove from the heat and stir in the corn flour mixture
• Return to the heat and stir until the soup thickens
• Whisk the egg and slowly add it to the soup making sure you stir continuously
• Serve and add a drizzle of sesame oil and salt and pepper to taste

Let me know if you try it or if you have any easy “Crocktober” recipe ideas to share.  Sorry Mum, and any other Vegetarians out there, probably not too interesting for you this week!

Have a great week everyone and thanks for stopping by – I do appreciate it.