EASY CHICKEN SANTA FE

EASY CHICKEN SANTA FE 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed & drained 1 small bag frozen sweet corn (or 2 cans, rinsed & drained) 1 cup bottled chunky salsa 6 skinless chicken thighs (or 6 skinless chicken breasts- see tips below) 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (low fat is fine), cut into chunks hot, steamed rice desired toppings: lettuce, tomato, shredded cheddar, avocado In a slow cooker, add beans, corn and 1/2 cup salsa. Top with the chicken and pour remaining salsa over the chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and cooked throughout. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken to the slow cooker along with the cream cheese. Stir and let cream cheese melt into the mixture to create a creamy sauce. For serving: You can serve the chicken & sauce over rice with a sprinkle of lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese on top. Or you can serve these as tacos with cheese and a couple of taco fixings such as lettuce and tomato. TIPS: For chicken, the thighs will turn out more moist and tender than the breasts in a slow cooker. I used bone-in thighs and removed the skin. After the 3 hours, I removed the thighs, cut off the chicken, discarded the bones and returned the chicken to the slow cooker. You can use breasts too, just be sure not to overcook them or you'll run the risk of drying them out. Alternately, you can use boneless, skinless thighs and you can prepare this in the oven- 350 degrees F. for about 70 minutes. If you're watching your weight, you can most certainly leave out the cream cheese. It makes an awfully yummy sauce, but the corn/beans/salsa/chicken mixture would also make for an excellent dinner over rice or inside tortillas