Ragnar packing and Crock Pot Pollo Verde Enchiladas

Eeeeekkkkk! In less then 36 hours my Ragnar team Strangers To Sole Mates will be taking off to run from Hunnington Beach, CA to San Diego, CA! I am so excited right now but also have the butterflies I always get before a race and sometimes before my long runs too!

Today was spent doing some super secret squirrel stuff in the kitchen (recipe and post coming later) and getting ready to leave for Southern California tomorrow. Luckily I live about 4 hours north of the start so Chad and I are driving instead of flying. 

I packed my running bag which will go with me in the van. 

Katie recommended putting together our clothing for each leg in a gallon zip lock bag. It also serves as a stink container for used running clothes later! 

I have three bags with three outfits for three legs! I also have a misc bag which contains everything from my hand held water bottle (Nathan Quick Shot), by FlipBelt, my earphone, hair ties, candy for fuel, my required safety gear and everything else I may need while running. And a little bag for my Garmin and chargers. Being a little OCD I also marked what was inside each bag on the outside in Sharpie so I could hopefully prevent unpacking and re packing the bags. 

I also am bringing shower stuff, toothbrush and toothpaste, my small foam roller, The Stick and a lacrosse ball. 

The second bag will be left with Chad and I will see it post race. It has all my clothes for the rest of the time we are there. 

Bag three is full of super secret squirrel stuff 😉 

Since we will be eating out for the next 5 days Chad and I both really wanted to eat at home tonight so I made Crock Pot Pollo Verde Enchiladas! 

I love my crock pot. The first one I owed was a gift from my oldest sister (about 6 years ago?) and unfortunately over the course of a few moves I lost the insert. The new one has all kinds of timing features through so I hesitantly traded sentiment for usefulness. 

Making crock pit chicken could not be easier! I add frozen chicken breasts to the bottom of the crock pot and pour whatever sauce I'm going to use on top. Cool for 4 hours on high, shred the chicken with forks and cool for another couple of hours on low to bring it all together. You can also cook it for 8 hours on low before shredding if you are at work or away. If by chance your mix winds up being to soupy for your liking, take the lid off following shredding the chicken and stir every now and then. The excess liquid will evaporate. You can do chicken breast with BBQ sauce for amazing pulled chicken sandwiches or even put the chicken on a salad once cooled. 

Crock Pot Pollo Verde Enchiladas 

Makes 6 good sized enchiladas and 2 quart sized bags of chicken to use later 

5 frozen chicken breasts 

1 jar Trader Joe's (or similar) salsa verde

1/4c water which I used to swish around any left over sauce before pouring over the chicken

Hot Sauce if you like it spicy (we do in this house!)

1/2 large can of enchilada sauce (I froze the other half to use later) 

6 corn tortillas

Cheese (whatever you prefer or have on hand. I used cheddar which I wouldn't normally use in Mexican cooking but that's what was in the fridge!)

Place the frozen chicken on the bottom of your crock pot and cover with salsa verde, hot sauce and water. 

The hot sauce I used we brought back from Roatan, Honduras in January. The chef, Selace, at the resort we stayed at makes his own hot sauce and it is amazing! Super spicy but with a little bit of sweet. Almost tastes like Habanero Peppers but he uses Carribean Mutton Peppers he grows himself. We are down to one bottle now so it's a good thing Chad is going back soon! 

Let the crock pot do it's thing while you do yours! 

Once the chicken is cooked (4 hours high or 8 hours low) shred it with your forks. 

Keep on cooking for a while to let the chicken soak up the juices. 

Once your ready to eat preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven preheats heat the enchilada sauce in a pan on the stovetop until it's hot. 

Once the sauce is hot, heat each tortilla individually to make it more pliable. I do it over a gas burner but you could do it in the microwave. Trust me though, the burner gives it little toasted bits which are delish!

Dip the tortillas into the enchilada sauce. I used my hands but WARNING everything will be hot! Feel free to use tongs. 

Fill the tortillas with chicken, roll them up and place them seam side down in a 9x9 pan which has a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of it. Repeat the heat, dip, stuff, roll process for all the enchiladas. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchilada, top with cheese and put them into the oven until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly, about 10-15 minutes. 

I went a little cheese happy on this batch! 

Serve and enjoy!

This summer I am planning on making and canning my own salsa verde. The canned enchilada sauce is not ideal but when your busy and have it handy it will work. If anyone has a good enchilada sauce recipe please share!

Last night I managed to do Baby Bakasana (crow pose) which is also know as a Forearm Bakasana! Same placement of knees on arms with feet off the ground but it's forearms on the ground instead of hands. So freaking awesome!! Next up if full on Bakasana!

I don't know when or if I will blog when down in Souther California but I will have plenty of pictures and stories to share when I get a chance!