"Hoppy" Slow Cooked BBQ Pulled Chicken (5 simple ingredients!)

I know the Super Bowl is over.....

but let's be honest, sporting events are happening every day and there is always an excuse to get out the meat, beer, and BBQ sauce!  This weekend, as you sip on a nice cold beer (if in fact you like beer) think about how delicious it would taste in your BBQ recipe!

Looks good....right?!

It was.

In fact, it was amazing.  And the best part about this recipe was that is was as easy as 1, 2, 3.  Literally; put the chicken in the slow-cooker, add four ingredients, turn it on, and wait (ok, was that four steps?).  

So what made me think to add beer to my slow cooker chicken?  I was perusing blogs one day and came across this recipe on Tiff's blog.  She used BEER in the slow-cooker, and I started to drool, seriously, all over the place.  I love beer, and I love my slow-cooker.  Ok, so maybe "beer in the slow-cooker" has been done before, but this was new to me (I mean, I am a newbie to the slow-cooker, and still learning....).  She used 4-ounces of beer in her recipe, but I thought...why not more?!  And so, here is what I came up with.

"Hoppy" Slow-Cooked BBQ Pulled Chicken

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 frozen chicken breasts (find in your grocers freezer, I used a favorite Organic brand)

6 ounces BBQ sauce (approximately)

1/4th cup maple syrup

2 Tbsp. liquid smoke

12 ounces of your favorite light beer 

Directions

Add all ingredients together in the slow-cooker, and cook on low for 6-7 hours (or high for 3-4 hours).  Turn off the slow-cooker and use two forks to shred the chicken in the slow cooker.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken without making a juicy mess.

Enjoy.  You will.

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/6th of recipe (~3/4th cup)

Nutrition Highlights:  Ok, there aren't many nutrition highlights, but if you compare this to any restaurant's pulled/shredded chicken I'd bet my life it's lower in calories, fat, and sodium (especially sodium!).  If you want this to be a more "complete" meat, serve it with whole grain bread for some fiber, or on top of brown rice.  Add some veggies too, to create a balanced plate.

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CREATE YOUR PLATE! Chicken for protein, broccoli (our household's veggie of choice) for vegetable, extra veggies for the "Fruit" (because there is less sugar and typically more fiber in vegetables anyway), brown rice or whole grain bread for the grain, and a glass of milk or a slice of cheese for the dairy (or you can have some soy or almond milk, because let's be honest, you don't need dairy)

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QUESTION:  Ok creative readers, how would you be unique and eat this shredded chicken other than on sandwiches??  Tell me your ideas in the comment section!


What are you doing this weekend? Anything exciting?  Nick and I are not doing much, mainly because I work all weekend (this is what I get for taking last weekend off! It's always worth it though).

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

NOTE: I love comments!  But, be sure to come back to read any replies to questions or comments, as they do not go directly to your e-mail.

Simple Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches (Thrifty Thursday)

This recipe was not only cheap ( $10 for 6 sandwiches) but it was also incredibly simple (therefore it was thrifty in terms of time and money). I followed this recipe from AllRecipes.com.  I modified the recipe slightly by using only 8-ounces of BBQ sauce instead of 12-ounces.  It was as simple as adding the frozen chicken to the crockpot, topping it with the BBQ sauce, closing the lid, and waiting around all day while the house filled with delicious smells and aromas. 

This recipe wasn't low FODMAPs because of the BBQ sauce (I've yet to find a FODMAPs-free BBQ sauce) but.....

Is it just me, or does this look like a bowl of hot wings?

.....when I shredded the chicken I didn't add the extra BBQ to my portion, only to Nick's.  Therefore I got the juicy, tender chicken with just a hint of BBQ sauce on top, making it at least lower FODMAPs.

I really enjoy shredding meat.  It's very liberating.

Is this sandwich not beautious?!  Nick actually cut some red onions and sauteed them to add to his sandwich.  He knows I  a) hate to cut onions because my eyes burn like crazy and b) can't eat onions because they contain FODMAPs, so he was nice enough to do this himself.  I think they made the sandwich look that much better.  He needs to be the food blogger, not me.

Nick served his chicken on a whole wheat bun, with red onion and cilantro. I just took off the onion for my own. SO GOOD! 

Instagram photo.  Love it. Follow me; The Candid RD

Estimated Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 Sandwich made with 1/6th of the chicken recipe, and including a typical ~160-calorie whole wheat bun.  Also, note that I only used 8-ounces of BBQ sauce, versus the 12-ounces called for in the original recipe from the link above.

** NOTE: 1/6th of the recipe, without a bun, would be about 420 calories.  If you want to use a lighter bun look for a 100-calorie bun in your local supermarket (or go even lighter and omit the bun and use the chicken in a taco salad or enjoy it alone, with some fun toppings) **

QUESTION:  What would you do with the extra BBQ sauce from this recipe? I used just a tad on a baked potato the next day, and then Nick used it on some chicken tacos the following evening (but Nick goes wild with sauce, especially BBQ.  He can't do just a tad).  Delicious.

Stay tuned for another wonderful (and incredibly simple) recipe for pulled chicken with a "hoppy" twist coming up next week.  Oh, and eventually I'll be getting Nick to post his succulent sea bass recipe, which he made for dinner last night.  Yes, Nick made dinner, and it was not only blog-worthy, but I could have easily spent $30 on it at a nice restaurant!  He's got some talent in the kitchen...have I mentioned that before?  And he even kept it relatively low-FODMAPs (and healthy!) for me.  What a guy.

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd