Perfect for Many Applications: Shredded Chicken

I'm not a big restaurant person.  I'll go, but I find that I rarely enjoy the food.  It is not that the food is not good, necessarily, but my brain always tells me, "I could do that", and then it whispers "maybe even better." One thing I love to eat when I have to be in a Mexican restaurant is a chicken taco.  Soft corn tortilla with flavorful chicken, cilantro, radishes, onion, lime, and a bit of good salsa.  That, I almost always enjoy.

I know that in most Mexican restaurant kitchens, the whole chicken is used.  Now, I don't mind that, except that at home, I like to try to be healthy, while eating flavorful food.  So began my quest for flavorful shredded chicken breast.  The nice thing about this recipe, is that it can be adapted via your taste and what you want the chicken for.  If, for instance, you want to make tacos, enchilladas, tortas, taquitos, etc. this recipe is fine as is. If you want it, for instance, for a chicken salad, you may want to adjust the seasonings.  All the same, you'll get shredded chicken breast with lots of flavor that is not dried out. I think it is worth trying. I used this recipe today to make baked taquitos.  I softened tortillas on a live flame on my stove, then put in some of the chicken, rolled them up, and baked them until crisp in a 425 degree oven.  A lovely snack!

Shredded Chicken
4 chicken breasts (preferably free range, though admittedly, that is beyond my finances at this time)
2 cups chicken broth
1 can tomatoes, crushed in your hand
1 onion, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 t. dried thyme
1 t. mexican oregano
1 t. salt
6 de arbol chiles

Directions
Put everything in a pot and simmer it until the chicken is tender.  It will be longer than just getting it done.  Let this go for at least an hour, covered.  Turn off the heat and let the chicken cool in the broth at room temperature. When it is cool, strain the lot into a colander, reserving the delicious stock for something like rice or soup and shred the chicken with the tomatoes and onions.  squeeze the filling out of the chiles (seeds and all).  Season with salt.  Add a bit of broth to keep the meat moist.