Taste and Create

My partner for this month's Taste and Create is Min from The Bad Girl's Kitchen. Min has an extensive collection of recipes and I was tempted by many of her pasta creations. But with Melissa and Trey's party on Saturday, I was looking for quick and easy. Min's Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans caught my interest. This is truly one of those dump and cook meals. The night before, I chopped the onions and red bell pepper to make an early morning assembly easy. You don't even need to soak the beans overnight. I used my favorite salsa from the produce counter at Publix. But I must say that Min is one spicy gal! The stew is rather hot and next time I will cut back on the heat.
If you have leftovers, fill a warm flour tortilla with the chicken and beans and top with lettuce, salsa and sour cream for another quick meal.

Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans
serves 4

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 jar (11 ounces) mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles, in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (Do not open lid or stir.)

Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.