Boy are you all in for a treat! I have a friend who is Mexican and has taught me how to make lots of incredible Mexican dishes! The very best tip I have gleaned from her so far is how to prepare your chicken before adding it to any of the dishes she makes. It is so easy, so yummy and incredibly versatile! So here you go - enjoy!

Fill a large stock pot about half to 2/3 full of water. Add a whole chicken or about 6 large chicken breasts. Throw in  a couple large chunks of onion and a handful of fresh garlic cloves. Now add salt and pepper (this varies according to your taste, I add about 1-2 T. salt and 1 T. pepper). Now for the surprising secret ingredient: dried mint leaves! I add about 1-2 T. Let this simmer until the chicken is nice and tender and that's it - it is that simple! The chicken can be shredded or chunked and frozen for later use. It is excellent in casseroles, enchiladas, soups, on salads, etc. In fact I am preparing this chicken right now as I write and will turn the chicken and the stock into chicken pot pie for dinner tonight. The stock is also a wonderful base for soups and can also be frozen for later use. We love to make it into chicken noodle soup with homemade egg noodles. Yum!