Easy Shredded BBQ Chicken

I love BBQ.  Let's just get that straight.  Coming from Kansas City, I've had some great BBQ, as KC knows BBQ (as does Texas, Carolina, and Memphis, in their own styles).  In my haste of meal-freezing in preparation for the time-starved days of early parenthood, I decided to freeze some BBQ shredded chicken.  This recipe is SOOOO easy though, advance preparation is not necessary.  By using chicken instead of pork or beef, this BBQ is lower in bad fats and cholesterol.  And let's face it; it just tastes so good.

Although you can certainly make your own BBQ sauce, I decided to use a pre-made sauce.  I chose Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce--Kansas City Style (made by Kraft), based off of the ingredients.  Most store-bought BBQ sauces use high fructose corn syrup as the #1 ingredient.  In fact, I think only two bottles of BBQ in all of the grocery store I was at did NOT use high fructose corn syrup.  Do NOT buy these for your health's sake.  The sauce I used has tomato puree as the #1 ingredient, along with sugar, vinegar, molasses, and other seasonings.

Ingredients:
2 lbs Frozen Chicken Breasts (can be in strips or entire breasts)
1 18-oz Bottle of BBQ Sauce (or make your own sauce)

Directions:
1.  Put frozen chicken breasts into Crockpot.
2.  Pour BBQ sauce over chicken breasts.
3.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Take two forks and shred the chicken up after chicken has cooked through.

That's all!  Sooo easy.  Serve on top of a whole-grain bun with pickles.  Sides of BBQ baked beans, coleslaw, and baked french fries work well with this.  Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries

This recipe makes a regular appearance in our household.  Baked chicken and sweet potato fries are really healthy, but let us feel like we're splurging (I mean, we're eating fries!).  You can also use regular potatoes for this recipe, but sweet potatoes are healthier (loaded with Vitamin A--roughly 250% of your daily value, Vitamin C, fiber--more than in oatmeal, complex carbohydrates, and beta-carotene).

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Chicken Breasts
BBQ Sauce
2 Medium Sweet Potatoes
3 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Garlic
1 tsp. Parsley
1 tsp. Basil
1 tsp. Cumin

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Coat Chicken Breasts in BBQ sauce and let sit for a few minutes.
3. Cut rinsed Sweet Potatoes (skin on) in half length-wise and then into slices about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick.  Cut those slices in half again.
4.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray with cooking spray.  Place the cut potato strips on the baking sheet.
5. Combine Parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, and cumin in a small bowl.
6. Lightly spray the potato fries with cooking spray (or alternatively, drizzle with olive oil).  Sprinkle Parmesan mix across the fries.
7.  Lightly spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Place BBQ-covered chicken in dish.  Place on top rack in Oven for 25-28 minutes.
8.  After the Chicken has cooked for 5 minutes, place the fries in the oven (bottom rack).   Turn fries once, around 10-12 minutes into baking.  Then bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until somewhat crispy.
9.  Meanwhile, prepare some steamed broccoli.  I am a fan of using the steam-in-the-bag frozen broccoli and have found some great organic ones at Whole Foods (Columbia Rivers brand).
10.  Remove chicken and fries from oven and serve immediately!