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As the queen of allergies, it can be really hard to find food to eat, and tasty food on top of that! I’m not a master chef by any means and most days I’m afraid to even go near the kitchen. However, I once was so desperate for some salsa and quesadillas that I came up with this crock pot recipe. The crock pot is the best solution as a mom who’s way too busy to stand by the stove. This is my favorite to use because it has a simple digital timer, an off button (for those of you that “This is Us” scarred for life), and more than enough space to feed the family! I’ve had it for over seven years and it hasn’t failed me once:
Crock-Pot Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker w/Dipper & Recipe Book
I’m incredibly proud of this dish, especially since my chef husband loves it too! It’s not easy being a chef wife and trying to cook something, especially when you aren’t confident stepping into a kitchen to begin with. He’s always begging for me to make this recipe though.
Originally, I made these for us with chicken and corn tortillas (I’m celiac!). However, after having my son, I developed an allergy to chicken and corn and stopped making them. Thanks to the wonderful progress of gluten-free alternatives, I discovered chickpea tortillas at the supermarket the other day and we were pleasantly surprised with how good they are! I’m not just saying that as a health food nut either. I normally hate all of the weird sounding stuff but trust me, these are actually good. I also substituted the chicken for turkey this time around, although my husband convinced me to get turkey drumsticks…I would not recommend them – definitely go with boneless. The meat tasted delicious but it was truly a pain to remove the meat from the bones straight out of the crockpot. I created my bell pepper free salsa recipe years back as well because I LOVE salsa and I’m sadly allergic to bell peppers. With that said, the taco seasoning is also free from any pepper.
Crock Pot Quesadilla Recipe
Makes: 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5-6 hours on low, 3.5-4 hours on high
Ingredients
- 2 lbs skinless boneless chicken (substitute turkey)
- 1 cup chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth if allergic to chicken)
- 1 tbsp ground cilantro
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp Homemade Taco Seasoning (recipe below)
- 1/2 cup Pepper Free Salsa (recipe below)
- 12 chickpea tortilla sheets (or 2 sheets per quesadilla)
- 1 cup of Mexican cheese
- Cooking spray or oil
Directions
- Combine the chicken, broth, cilantro, salt, taco seasoning, and salsa in your Crock Pot. Give it a stir and and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until fully cooked and tender. Cook on high for 3.5-4 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Drain it and shred it.
- Pre-spray the outside of the tortilla with a non-stick cooking spray or any oil. Place approx. 1/2 cup of meat and at least 1/2 cup of cheese on a tortilla. Add more cheese based on liking.
- Top the tortilla with a second tortilla and spray cooking spray on the outside.
- Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until it is toasted on the outside.
- Cut in half and serve.
Pepper Free Salsa Recipe
I am not a fast chopper at all (unlike my husband!), and I used to find myself chopping all of these ingredients for an hour or more, especially with our toddler constantly distracting me. I finally caved and got the Cuisinart DLC-4CHB Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless and it seriously changed my life. It’s so small I can put it away in the cabinet, and it works perfectly for feeding my family of three!
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 cup sliced purple onion
- 2 limes
- 1 handful of cilantro
- 1 handful of watercress
- 3 radishes
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp agave nectar or 1/2 tbsp of honey
- sprinkle salt
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, squeeze 1-2 limes until the juice is all in the bowl. Dice up onion and drop them into the bowl. Mix together and let the onion soak in the juice.
- Dice tomatoes and add the the tomatoes and the juice to the mixing bowl.
- Finely chop cilantro and watercress and add to bowl.
- Dice radishes and add to bowl.
- Mix well. Pour vinegar and agave nectar (or honey) into bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix thoroughly.
- Store in refrigerator and allow flavors to soak together for at least 30 minutes.
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cumin
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
