What's For Dinner: The Easiest (Seriously!) Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken

Dinnertime doesn't get easier (or tastier) than this recipe for The Easiest Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken. 


The Easiest (Seriously!) Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken || A Less Processed Life

This slow cooker BBQ shredded chicken is one of our weekly go-to dinner recipes. It couldn't be simpler to make and takes less than 5 minutes to prep the ingredients for the slow cooker.

The Easiest (Seriously!) Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken || A Less Processed Life

If I were feeling particularly ambitious, I could make the barbecue sauce from scratch (see the bottom of this post for a sample recipe), but on a weeknight, I'd much rather throw a couple of ingredients together and call it a day. So, obviously, choose your favorite barbecue sauce to use in this recipe, as it is a feature flavor, and you don't want to skimp here.

For a simple dinner, we'll serve the BBQ chicken over rice, but it can also just as easily be made into slider sandwiches served with coleslaw and a little extra slather of barbecue sauce. For best results, use a slow cooker with an automatic warm option after the cook time is up; too long in the slow cooker, even on the low setting, and you could end up with less-than-appetizing dried out chicken. And no one wants that for dinner.

Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken (printer-friendly version)
makes 4-6 servings

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (reserve a few tablespoons for serving)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
water
1 cup cooked rice, for serving

1. Pat the chicken thighs dry and place in the slow cooker. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Cover the chicken with barbecue sauce and gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour and 30 minutes or cook on low for 3 hours.
2. After the chicken is cooked (it should reach a temperature of 165 degrees), remove from the slow cooker and shred with two forks. Add the water to the cornstarch and stir to make a slurry. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the slow cooker and stir to combine. Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and cook on the low setting for 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
3. Serve over rice alongside extra barbecue sauce, if desired.

The Easiest (Seriously!) Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken || A Less Processed Life

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What's For Dinner: Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata

This Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata is a springtime favorite for the whole family.


Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata || A Less Processed Life

The downside of baking a whole bone-in ham is that, if you're not cooking it to feed a crowd, there's a good chance you're going to have leftovers for days. As in, many days. Many many days.

Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata || A Less Processed Life

While of course repeating the ham dinner for a night or two is not a terrible thing, nor is ham sandwiches for lunch. But after awhile, you might run out of ideas. And let me just say, if you're in a super time crunch, there's nothing wrong with chopping some of the leftover ham into bite-size pieces and stirring it into a big ol' pot of macaroni and cheese. (I call that a Scout dinner, as it reminds me of a traditional Girl Scout camp meal of cut up hot dogs in mac & cheese. Very classy.)

Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata || A Less Processed Life

However, one of the easiest (and tastiest) ways to use up leftover ham is in a frittata or quiche. This recipe for Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata is no exception. It's like the epitome of springtime in one simple dish.

Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata || A Less Processed Life

And while it may look like you sweated over the stove for hours to make it, it actually only takes less than 30 minutes to make it. That makes this meal a perfect option for any night of the week.

Asparagus, Ham, and Goat Cheese Frittata
makes 4-6 servings

4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
2 tablespoons 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound asparagus, rinsed and ends removed, then chopped into 1" segments
2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup diced cooked ham
2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Place a rack at the top setting in your oven and set the oven to broiler.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped asparagus and sliced scallions. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the cooked ham. Continue until warmed through, 2-3 minutes. Remove most of the asparagus tops and set aside.
3. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable mixture and cook gently for 5 minutes until the edges are set, but the center is still loose. Place the asparagus tops onto the top of the frittata in whatever pattern you choose. Sprinkle with the crumbled goat cheese.
4. Place the frittata in the oven and broil until the eggs are just set (watch it closely!), 1-3 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.



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What's For Dinner: Slow-Baked Bone-in Whole Smoked Ham

When it comes to cooking a bone-in whole smoked ham, low and slow is the way to go.


Slow-Baked Bone-in Whole Smoked Ham  || A Less Processed Life

In the Northwoods, more often than not, "April Showers" refers to "Snow Showers." Case in point, after a lovely weekend in the 60s and 70s, last night we got 5 inches of snow. Despite what the calendar says, it definitely looks a lot more like Christmas outside than Easter. Ah, the joys of living in Northern Wisconsin.

Regardless of the weather situation, Easter is just around the corner. Most of my Easter food memories center on jelly beans and besuited chocolate bunny rabbits (the ones from Agalmesis are my favorite). But you can't eat candy for dinner. (Well, at least you shouldn't, anyway.)

Slow-Baked Bone-in Whole Smoked Ham  || A Less Processed Life

When it comes to Easter dinner, ham is the centerpiece on many tables. Up until now, I'd never cooked a whole ham. Turns out, though the cut of meat might be a little daunting at first, it's actually a snap to make. My ham was a whole smoked ham that came from a pig named Scratchy (yeah, I'm a terrible farmer who names the animals) that we raised on our farm back in 2015. The downside of having a whole ham is that it feeds a lot of people. Dustin's parents were in town recently, making it a perfect time to try to cook up my first ham and have plenty of people to share it with. (However, we still ended up with plenty of leftovers: I've got a few leftover ham recipes to share in the next few weeks, too.)

Slow-Baked Bone-in Whole Smoked Ham  || A Less Processed Life

I went super-simple with my first oven-baked ham. I decided to focus on the ham's flavor and opted to forego a glaze. If you are feeling particularly fancy, you could stud the top of the ham with whole cloves before baking; but again, I wanted to go au naturel with this recipe. There are plenty of great glaze recipes available on the web; for my next ham I'm thinking a maple-bourbon glaze could be a delicious combination.

Slow-Baked Bone-in Whole Smoked Ham
makes 10-12 servings 

10-pound bone-in smoked whole ham

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F. 
2. Use a sharp knife to score the skin-and-fat side of the ham about 1/8-inch deep in a diamond pattern. (Slice diagonally across the ham in one direction, and then slice diagonally in the opposite direction to make the diamonds.)
3. Put the ham fat-side-up in a roasting pan. Cover it loosely with foil and bake for 4 to 6 hours. The internal temperature should read 145 degrees.
4. Remove the ham from the oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.


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