Crock Pot Chicken Caesar Sliders

This past weekend, both Saturday and Sunday provided perfect air and water show weather.  So we put our entertaining hats on, hit the rooftop, and took advantage.  It was indeed a success.

I wanted to make something delicious for my guests that didn’t require much work on my part. These sliders fit both those requirements.  Plus, they were just the right size for guests to manage in one hand, while holding a cold beer (or glass of wine) in the other.  I served the sliders with my Lentil Orzo Salad, Meredith’s Classic Oatmeal Cookies, and lots of cold beverages.

The Caesar chicken can be made up to a day ahead of serving and reheated in the crock pot just before guests arrive.  If you choose to make it in advance, be careful not to dry out your chicken during the reheating process (just keep an eye on it and add additional salad dressing if it gets too dry).  I put the chicken in the crock pot at 7 am and it was fully cooked and ready for shredding at 11 am.  With guests arriving at noon, timing worked out perfectly.  The chicken was fall apart tender.  It soaked up all the yummy flavors once combined with the rest of the ingredients.

These sliders are  simple and sophisticated at the same time.  A great, “friends over on the weekend,” meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken breasts
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup homemade creamy Caesar salad dressing, or store-bought
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
• 16 slider buns, toasted
• 1 head romaine lettuce, outside leaves removed and sliced thin
• Additional creamy caesar salad dressing and parmesan cheese for slider toppings

Directions:

Place chicken breasts and chicken broth in crock pot.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.

Remove chicken from crock pot and reserve 1/3 cup chicken broth.  Discard additional broth (or skim and reserve for use in another recipe).  Allow chicken to cool enough to handle and shred.

Return shredded chicken to crock pot, add reserved chicken broth, 3/4 cup salad dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley and black pepper.  Stir to combine.  Turn crock pot to low (or keep warm, if your crock pot has that setting) and allow to heat through for 15 minutes.  Add the additional 1/4 cup salad dressing if needed.

Top each slider bun with 1/4 cup caesar chicken mixture and romaine lettuce.  Serve with additional salad dressing and parmesan cheese for individuals to customize.

Servings: 16 (Serving size: 1 slider)

Notes: This recipe makes 4 cups of caesar chicken.  If you prefer to serve on full size buns, recipe makes 8 sandwiches with 1/2 cup caesar chicken on each.