Buffalo and Spice and Everything Nice

Healthy Hump Day Recipe

Get your crock pots ready because today features another delicious, easy, and quick meal the whole family will love! It also provides a healthy alternative to a classic favorite. I am not the biggest fan of super spicy flavorings, but a mild buffalo sauce definitely gets me excited. A lot of crock pot meals will include pre-packaged spice mixes that taste delicious but are full of sodium. Luckily, it is very easy to make these mixes on your own and significantly cut down on the sodium. You're probably thinking, "but Jackie, it's so much easier to just rip open a packet and pour", and although that might be true, making the homemade version just involves chucking a few teaspoons of this and a few tablespoons of that into a bowl and swishing it around a few times with your hands. The ease is definitely still there, and the healthy factors are taken into consideration. WIN-WIN! Trust me, your arteries will thank you for not coating them with sodium. The flavors of buffalo sauce and ranch go together so nicely, don't they? When you go out for wings, you want to dip them in ranch. This tasty chicken recipe combines those two popular combinations for a kickin' meal full of versatility, and the crock pot's touch makes the chicken fall apart with the simple pull of a fork.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients
-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
-1 tsp dried parsley
-1/2 tsp ground black pepper
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1/4 tsp onion powder
-1/8 tsp thyme
-1/2 cup buffalo sauce
-2 tbsp Smart Balance

Directions
1. Butterfly chicken breasts in half. Place one layer at the bottom of a crock pot.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and blend with your hands.
3. Smear 1 tbsp buffalo sauce for each chicken breast half evenly over the layer of chicken.
4. Sprinkle 1/2 tbsp spice mixture for each chicken breast half evenly over the layer of chicken.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until all chicken has been used.
6. Turn crock pot to low and cook for 6hrs or high and cook for 4hrs.
7. Add Smart balance and stir. Pull apart chicken using 2 forks.

*You may have extra buffalo sauce and/or spice mixture left over. Save for later use!
*Make pulled chicken wraps or sandwiches for a perfect game-day meal!