By Summer starts, and with it, the apartment complex job in Prairieville. Sixty units. I hired two more electricians — apprentices, young, hungry. Beaumont Electrical is now seven people, which would have been unthinkable to the kid who got his journeyman's license in Houma in 2004 and just wanted to wire houses. The scale is different. The responsibility is different. But the work is the same: pull wire, make connections, test the circuits, make sure the lights come on. The basics don't change. The basics are the roux. Everything else is just stock.
Rémy wants to work with me. He's seven. He can't work with me. But I let him come to the job site on Saturday — hard hat, safety glasses, the whole outfit — and I showed him a junction box and explained how electricity moves through wire the way water moves through a pipe, and his eyes lit up (no pun intended) and he said, "So you're like a plumber for lightning?" And I said, "Something like that, cher." And he grinned. And I thought: maybe not a fisherman. Maybe not a garbage truck driver. Maybe an electrician. But probably a fisherman. The bayou calls louder than the wire.
I didn’t cook a single real meal this week — between the Prairieville job, the two new apprentices needing direction on every rough-in, and Rémy asking me fourteen follow-up questions about lightning plumbing on the drive home Saturday, I didn’t have it in me to stand at a stove. So Sunday morning I dropped chicken in the slow cooker before the sun was up, went back to the site, and by the time we got home it was done — tender, pull-apart, ready for rice or bread or whatever the kids grabbed first. Sometimes the smartest move in the kitchen, same as on a job, is knowing what you can set and walk away from.
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 6–8 hours (low) or 3–4 hours (high) | Total Time: Up to 8 hours | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3–4 breasts)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (optional)
Instructions
- Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry and rub all over with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning if using.
- Add to slow cooker. Place seasoned chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer. Pour chicken broth around (not over) the chicken.
- Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–8 hours or on HIGH for 3–4 hours, until chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Shred. Remove chicken to a cutting board or large bowl. Use two forks to shred the meat into pieces. Return shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to coat with the cooking juices.
- Serve. Use immediately over rice, in tacos, on sandwiches, or in pasta. Store leftovers in an airtight container with some cooking liquid to keep it moist.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 1g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 320mg