Bajio Chicken

I'd never heard of Bajio Grill. They seem to be located mostly in the western states, with the exception of Texas, Florida, Kentucky and Indiana. Maybe the fact that there are restaurants in Kentucky and Indian means they are slowly branching out to the Midwest. This recipe from Real Mom Kitchen is supposed to be a knock off of their Bajio chicken. I don't know how Bajio Grill makes their chicken in the restaurant, but this recipe is prepared in the crockpot.

There is no photo cause shredded chicken is not a pretty thing. It sure is tasty though. I used Pace Picante because we like that type of "salsa". Picante is much more watery than a regular salsa. It seemed like there was an over abundance of liquid once the chicken was cooked and shredded. I don't know if this was because of the Picante or because I forgot to add the corn starch at the end. Probably a bit of both. Either way, I'll use regular salsa next time.

I'll also drain chilies. That would help eliminate some unnecessary liquid as well. I used mild chilies, but next time I'll use a spicier version. The heat would be a great contrast to the sweetness of the sauce.

I made two other changes to the original recipe. I used six chicken breasts instead of five, just because my chicken was frozen in packages of two. I had some Mountain Dew, so I used that in place of the Sprite. Laura, from Real Mom Kitchen said she had to increase the amount of brown sugar by 1/8 c from the 1/4 c from the original recipe. Instead of doing that, I think using Diet Mountain Dew and Splenda brown sugar instead would make the dish sweeter. Artificial sweeteners seem to make things taste sweeter than the real thing, and in this dish, sweeter is better.

Bajio Chicken from Real Mom Kitchen
5 chicken breasts (I only used 4 large ones)
1/2 cup salsa
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 cup brown sugar (more to taste)
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
6 oz. Sprite (1/2 can)

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and cook 1 more hour. Thicken the juices with a little cornstarch mixed in water. Serve with flour tortillas, lettuce, cheese, black beans and any other taco fixings. If you want it spicer rather than sweeter add a hotter salsa and more green chilies.