Cooking After Class: Crock Pot BBQ Baked Potatoes

So…this meal isn’t one of my all time favorite meals (it’s good but not fantastic) but…that being said, I’ve made it MANY times. It takes a matter of minutes to throw these BBQ Baked Potatoes into the crock pot in the morning and when you get home, dinner is ready. All that you have to do is quickly shred the chicken and get out whatever potato toppings you’d like. On those busy nights when you have ZERO time to prepare dinner, this is an option that beats the McDonalds drive through.

In our house, in addition to the shredded BBQ chicken, we like to add cheese to our potatoes. The kids like bacon too! If I have some green onions, I’ll cut some of those up to sprinkle on top. You could also add butter, sour cream, more BBQ sauce…really anything you’d like to make this potato as loaded as your heart desires.

Did I mention how easy this is to throw together? SUPER EASY! I start by using a crock pot liner because it makes clean up a breeze. Add your chicken and cover with BBQ sauce. Lay a piece of foil over the chicken. On top of the foil, place your foil covered potatoes. That’s it…seriously…that’s it! Cover and cook for 6 hours and viola!

Dinner is served after shredding the chicken and allowing it to soak in the juices for a few minutes. I shred the chicken as soon as I get home and then recover the crockpot. I get the toppings out and by the time I uncover the crock pot, the juices have soaked into the shredded chicken and it’s ready to serve.

My crock pot is a lifesaver. Even on those days when I can’t possibly find the time to make dinner, I can usually set my alarm for a little earlier to put together a crock pot meal in the morning. For this recipe, the prep is about 10 minutes max. Very doable even for those of us that love our sleep! If you’re looking to invest in a new crockpot, be sure to get one with a digital timer. This prevents your food from overcooking but still being warm (that’s to the keep warm setting) when you arrive home from work.