Welcome back, college chefs! We’re going to mix it up with a slow cooker dish: chicken tacos. Before you let the term “slow cooker” send you running, let me explain why this can be one of your best options as a busy college student.

The typical slow cooker meals can take anywhere from three to 10 hours to cook. At first, it may seem like too long of a cooking time for the average preoccupied student. In reality, it’s perfect for those who don’t want to cook a meal after a long day at school or work.

Before your daily activities, simply put the recipe’s ingredients into your slow cooker and adjust it to the proper settings. By the time you arrive home, dinner will be hot and ready to serve. Many slow cooker recipes can be frozen and used later, and you can find plenty that require minimal ingredients.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Start to finish: 6-8 hours

Servings: 2-4

16 ounce jar of salsa verde (green salsa)

Flour tortillas

1 ounce package of taco seasoning

3 chicken breasts

**All ingredients purchased at:

Schnucks
975 S. Annie Glidden Rd.

DeKalb, IL 60115

**Optional: You can use any taco fixings you prefer (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream).

For this recipe, you will need a medium or large sized slow cooker. If you have a smaller slow cooker, cut the ingredients in half.

Sarah Fischer/Northern Star

**Prices for slow cookers range from $9 to $70 depending on size, style and brand

Rub the entire package of taco seasoning evenly onto the chicken breasts to season them. Then, lay each chicken breast on the bottom of the slow cooker. Any favorite seasoning works for this dish, but I chose to use Old El Paso cheesy taco mix (89 cents at Schnucks). Chicken breasts are typically $4.49 per pound at Schnucks.

Sarah Fischer/Northern Star

Pour the 16 ounce jar of salsa verde onto the chicken. Salsa verde is typically a medium salsa; you can also adjust the spiciness of the dish by using different salsas and seasonings.

Sarah Fischer/Northern Star

Place the lid on your slow cooker and adjust the setting to “low.”. Cook for six to eight hours, and after it’s fully cooked, remove the lid and shred the chicken breasts with two forks.

Sarah Fischer/Northern Star

Typically, I take a medium sized pan and heat each tortilla for about 30 seconds on each side before serving. I prefer to use soft shelled tortillas when I make tacos ($2.79 at Schnucks). I like the texture better than the hard shelled and many packages of hard shelled tacos suggest heating them in the oven. Heating the soft tortillas in a pan is quicker.

Sarah Fischer/Northern Star

Fill each tortilla with your desired amount of chicken and top with any extra toppings you prefer. I keep it minimal with sour cream and shredded cheddar because the salsa and taco seasoning gave the dish flavor.

Ready to eat!