crock pot chicken tortilla soup

once the weather started getting cooler, i tried to find a few crock pot recipes for michael to make on his busy school days. something about crock pot meals screams cold weather to me, and it's so nice to come home to a house that smells like great food. :)

i think our favorite so far of these meals is chicken tortilla soup (original recipe found here).

it's healthy, easy, smells amazing, and is really filling. it also makes a bunch so we usually eat it for days! i highly recommend it on one of these cold fall nights.

4 uncooked boneless chicken breasts
15-oz can crushed tomatoes, not drained
10-oz can red enchilada sauce
15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
15-oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package of frozen corn or 1 can of corn, drained
29 ounces (2 cans) chicken broth
spice mix (about 1 tsp each of cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper)

1. place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, black beans, onion, green chiles, corn and garlic into the crock pot.

2. pour in chicken broth and season with spice mix.

3. cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

4. once cooking time is up, remove chicken and shred.* put back inside crock pot, mix, and let cook for another 10-15 minutes.

5. serve soup with cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips.

*i find the quickest and easiest way to shred chicken is using 2 forks. i think michael would agree. i did see a post a few days ago on a blog about using a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment to shred chicken. i haven't tried that yet, but if it does work that would be even easier!

enjoy!