We’re all familiar with Sloppy Joe’s. But are you also acquainted with Sloppy Chicken? This dish has probably been around for years, but I first learned about it when a friend brought it over a couple years ago when our entire family was sick with the flu. (We were so sick, we thought we were dying!)

From a dish of cooked rice and a slow cooker container of her “sloppy chicken,” Patty dished us up one of the tastiest dinners we’d ever had. She plated the rice then topped it with generous dollops of the cooked chicken. “If you run out of rice, you can load this onto hamburger buns, too, just like you would Sloppy Joe filling,” she said.

Once I was up and at ‘em again, I asked her for the recipe. Patty laughed and told me she never cooks with recipes. “But here’s what you do—it’s not rocket science. You’ll like how creative you can get with it, also!” And so, here’s what she said to do:

1. Depending on how many people you’ll be feeding, put some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in your slow cooker.
2. Pour a jar of salsa over them.
3. Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3.
4. Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred the breasts with two forks (or use your electric hand mixer, set on low speed).


5. Add a can of mild green chilis and a little chopped cilantro. Replace the lid.
6. Keep chicken on WARM while you cook your rice.
7. Serve over cooked rice; garnish with dollops of sour cream, sliced fresh avocado, and sliced black olives. Or not. It’s scrumptious without any garnishing at all.
8. And do get creative. Use what you have!

And like Patty mentioned, we did run out of cooked rice. So our leftover sloppy chicken went onto the above-mentioned hamburger buns. And holy smokes, was that ever good. We added slices of fresh onion and tomato and gobbled ‘em up!

Besides wanting to share a yummy meal idea, I wanted to talk about how smart it is to have an easy and scrumptious meal at-the-ready, when others are in need. We’d have gotten along OK without Patty’s thoughtfulness, of course. But her generosity and kindness sure made it easier for me to rest and not stress over what my family was going to eat while I was down ill.

It was Cesar Chavez, American labor leader and advocate for farmworkers' rights, who said it best, "The people who give you their food, give you their heart." Wouldn’t you agree? Something as simple as a meal can be such an incredible blessing!