I Dreamt of Chicken Tortilla Soup...

With temperatures falling and leaves turning, hot soups, hearty stews & comforting crock-pot recipes dance in our dreams...and hopefully make their way into reality!  I recently busted out my trusty crock-pot (I'm more of a griller during the warmer months) and couldn't wait to try out a new recipe.  Since I had been craving Mexican cuisine for about a week, I decided I'd come up with a tortilla soup recipe - warm, hearty & soul-satisfying!

Having made chicken tortilla soup once a couple years ago - and after reading a few different recipes online - I made my way to the grocery store & ended up picking out the ingredients that I was hungry for.  That's the beauty of cooking in a crock-pot...as long as you have a base (a little water, or a broth or sauce) you can pretty much throw in any promising combination of ingredients & it will simmer into a delicious meal you can savor for days.  This particular concoction turned out better than I expected - and I had high hopes to begin with!

I should also note that, in addition to crock-pots producing tasty meals, there is also the element of ease - have you ever heard of "set it and forget it"???  Most days during the week I'm gone from my apartment for typically 11 hours - from the time I leave for work in the a.m. until I return home after the gym - now, that is too much time to leave a crock-pot meal simmering.  However, I found the best way to work around a long day is to prepare the meal at night, right before you go to bed, and let it simmer on low until you wake up - hopefully about 7 hours (if we're lucky to catch that much shuteye!).

I put all the ingredients in the crock-pot, went to bed & awoke to the smell of simmering goodness - I dreamt of chicken tortilla soup...and it came true!!!  Just a couple small additional steps the next morning & I had lunch that day & several days after - and enough to share with a few lucky friends...

Recipe below!

Presentation

Soup building 101

In goes the chicken

Simmer baby, simmer

Morning after chicken

Dice it up

Throw it back in

Cut & bake tortilla strips

Add 'em to the pot

Voilà!

I Dreamt of...
Crock-Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 (15.5 oz) can great Northern beans, drained & rinsed (white beans - Cannellini also work)
- 1 (15.5 oz) can Kidney beans, drained & rinsed (or black bean if you like)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (or 1 can diced tomatoes & 1 small can green chilies)
- 1 (28 oz) can green enchilada sauce
- 2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth (I used the Knorr chicken bouillon cubes - 1 cube=2 cups broth)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (red or white onions also work)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tblsp cumin
- 1 tblsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like soup with a kick!)
- 1 tsp salt (I used sea salt, ground)
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4 raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts - thawed

For tortilla strips & toppings:
- 3 white or yellow corn tortillas - cut into strips & toasted
- 1 avocado
- fat-free Greek yogurt (or sour cream - but they taste the same on top of the soup!)
- reduced-fat shredded cheddar jack cheese
- hot sauce (my all-time fav is Cholula Original)


Directions: 

Place all ingredients from beans through pepper into crock-pot and stir. Add whole, raw chicken breasts to mixture.   Turn crock-pot on low and cover with lid.  Let simmer for 6-7 hours on low heat.

Fast forward....

When soup is fully cooked (after 6-7 hours; chicken will be fully cooked, an extra hour of simmering will only intensify the flavor), remove lid and stir.  Fish out chicken breasts from mixture using tongs & lay on a cutting board.  Shred chicken using a knife OR the amazing Pampered Chef chopping scissors that are pictured above (totally worth the price!).  Add chicken back into crock-pot and stir.

Preheat oven to 350º F.  Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Take 3 whole tortillas and lay them on top of one another.  Use a pizza cutter to cut them into inch-wide strips lengthwise, then cut them again in half horizontally (cut them however large or small you'd like!) and then lay them out on the cookie sheet.  Spray the tops with cooking spray.  Bake for 10 mins or until slightly golden brown.  Let cool, then throw in the crock-pot with the soup.

Serve this baby up on its own or topped with shredded cheese, sliced avocado, a dollop of Greek yogurt & hot sauce - Enjoy! :)

Note:  I finished the chicken in the morning before I left for work - so, once I got up I immediately turned the crock-pot off so it would be cool enough to remove the glass dish & store it in the fridge by the time I left for the office.  I also took some soup with me that day to work too!