Crockpot Magic: Chicken Taco Stew

I woke up yesterday to an 80 degree house. The air conditioner decided to quit on me. Not a good time, considering the average high fro the past week has been around 96!!!!!

After much drama and a high of 93 inside my house, the blessed air conditioning guy came out around 8 last night. Turns out...fixing was a no-go. I rushed off to WalMart to buy window units. I got it down to a balmy 82 in the living room and then had to start considering life the Sans A/C.

Dancing Queen has a ballet class at 7, and I had to work until 4 (next to last day for me YAAAAAY), so I had to think of a quick dinner. Ohhh...and one which wouldn't cause the house to go from Sauna to Blazing Inferno of Death. Soooo I turned to my trusty crockpot and put the ingredients together last night for

Chicken Taco Stew

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch thick strips
1/2 package dry black beans
1/2 package dry red beans (kidney)
6 cups water
3 beef bouillon cubes
4 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp ground cumin
2-3 tbs chili powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 large onion, sliced and separated into rings
2 30-oz cans tomato sauce
2 15-oz cans original Ro-Tel tomatoes (or hot if you're feeling froggy)

1. Rinse and drain beans. Pour into large stock pot and cover with 6 cups of water. Bring to boiling. Boil 2 minutes. Remomve from heat and let stand, covered, for 1 hour.

2. Place pot back on heat source. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, one hour.

3. Using a colander, drain beans into large measuring cup or mixing bowl. Set beans aside. You should have around 5 cups of "bean water." If you do not, add enough water to make 5 cups. To "bean water" add bouillon, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, red pepper, and black pepper. Stir until spices and bouillon are completely dissolved.

4. In bottom of crockpot mix Ro-Tel, tomato sauce, onion, and beans. Add spiced bean water. Throw strips of raw chicken into mixture.

5. If desired, place crockpot, covered, in refrigerator overnight (I prefer this because it lets all those yummy spices soak into the meat and beans mmmmmmmm).

6. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Remove chicken and shred with two forks approximately 30-60 minutes before serving. Stir back into stew.

Serve with crumbled tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream, and Mexican cheese.

ALTERNATIVE: for a thicker "stew" that's more like a dip, omit 1 can of the tomato sauce and reduce the "bean water" to 2.5-3.5 cups (pour bean water in until mixture is desired consistency).