Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

~Jackie~

In Colorado we never know what the weather is going to be like so when October was filled with 70 degree days I welcomed the cold snow on Sunday and took advantage of mine and Steves day at home by putting our new crockpot to use. We were both craving chicken tortilla soup and I had been wanting to come up with my own recipe using my favorite ingredients. There are so many versions of this soup so I just picked out some of my favorite vegetables and beans, threw them in the pot and hoped for the best. The soup turned out delicious and we had leftovers for days. 

 There’s nothing easier than throwing a bunch of fresh and canned ingredients into a pot, turning it on, and enjoying the fresh aromas of your food cooking for the next 6 hours. For most crockpot recipes there is no right or wrong way to prepare them because everything ends up in the same pot, but for blogs sake I will share how I prepared mine. I added the liquid (vegetable broth + water) to the crockpot and turned it on low. I then added the whole chicken breasts and topped with the fresh chopped vegetables, canned ingredients, and then spices and give everything a good stir. Then after about 6 hours I pulled out the two chicken breasts and shredded them with two forks and threw them back into the soup for another hour or so to thicken the soup and tenderize the chicken. 

After 7 or 8 hours the soup is ready to eat! By now you are probably drooling because you have been smelling it all day so be prepared to eat a lot, and don’t forget to add your toppings. With such a flavorful soup I went simple and added plain greek yogurt, sliced avocados, and fresh lime juice. In addition to my toppings, Steve added cheese, crushed tortilla chips, and a lot of hot sauce! If you are making this recipe for just two or even one, I would still recommend making the whole recipe and refrigerating or freezing the leftovers for the rest of the week (the flavors just keep getting better!) Happy cooking!