When My Depression Strikes, This Is My Favorite Recipe

Here’s one of my favorite recipes for when I’m just too exhausted to nourish my body.

When my depression strikes, my motivation and decision-making skills take a major hit. While I love to cook, I just can’t do anything remotely complicated and need something that may last me more than one meal if the feelings persist.

That’s why I turn to a really versatile (and super straight-forward!) recipe for crockpot salsa chicken. It’s literally two ingredients — chicken and salsa — and can be prepped hours beforehand. What’s more, the leftovers can be frozen for future meals.

I’ll often use it for tacos (so just grab tortillas and toppings of choice), but you can also put it on top of a grain, on a Mexican-themed salad, in a quesadilla, or simply eat on its own.

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Crockpot Chicken Salsa

Ingredients

• 2–4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast (the more you use, the more leftovers to freeze!)
• 1–2 jars 15-oz. salsa of your choice
• Favorite seasonings (optional)

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts in your crockpot and cover with all of the salsa. (If you’re using less than 2 pounds of chicken, or 4 breasts, you can use less salsa too.)
2. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
3. Taking two forks, or a meat shredder, shred the chicken.
4. You can serve the chicken/salsa mixture immediately, or if you’re not ready, let it simmer on low.
5. Serve it on top of a tortilla for tacos, slap it into some quesadillas, plop it on top of a salad, or cook up a grain, like rice or quinoa, and place it on top with veggies.

Article originally appeared on June 28, 2019 on Bezzy’s sister site, Healthline. Last updated on July 19, 2019.