Southwest Chicken Breasts with Cowboy Beans

A few weeks ago, my boss went on an anniversary trip to Sedona.  She brought me back a book, "Southwest Comfort Food" by Marilyn Noble.  I decided to try a slow cooker rolled chicken breast recipe and the cowboy beans.  Both were a bit time consuming, I think the beans were worth it but the chicken came out dry and I couldn't taste the filling.  My crockpot is new so that could contribute to the dryness but I'm thinking it needed some cream cheese or enchilada sauce added to stuffing. My sauce came out too watery to be a sauce so ended up in garbage....booooo.

Cowboy Beans

Ingredients

2lbs dry pinto beans

1 medium onion, minced 

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 green chiles, roasted, peeled and chopped (I couldn't find so used canned)

2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped

1T black pepper

2T dried oregano

1/2lb thick cut bacon

Salt

Directions

Wash and soak the beans. Place in large bowl, cover with cold water and allow to soak 8 hours or overnight. Drain and discard water.

Place beans in large pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, then reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour until beans are somewhat tender. Salt to taste. 

Add onion, garlic, green chiles, jalapeños, pepper and oregano. Coarse lay mince the bacon and stir into pot. Return to boil, then reduce heat again, cover, and simmer another hour. 

Southwest Chicken

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2cup shredded cheddar

1/4cup minced green bell pepper

1/4cup minced red bell pepper

1/4cup cilantro

1/4cup seeded and diced tomatoes

1t chile powder

1/2t cumin

Salt

1 cup red chile sauce (I used a can of enchilada sauce)

Directions

Place chicken between wax paper and pound with meat mallet until 1/4 inch thick. 

In medium bowl, mix cheddar, green pepper, red pepper, cilantro, and tomato. Stir in chile powder, cumin and salt. 

Place a bit of mix on each breast and roll, securing with toothpicks. Place the rolled chicken in slow cooker and cover with sauce. 

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. 

I'm going to have to try this one again and maybe use the recipe in the book for the sauce. I still think you will need more than 1 cup and reserve some for once done.  If anyone tries it with some tweaks, let me know.  Also, 2lbs of beans is ALOT of beans! Consider halving this recipe!