Sunday, September 18, 2011

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup



Last week I tried a new recipe, Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup. This has been in my "Recipes to Try" folder for well over a year and I was ready to attempt it. My verdict? It's a keeper. First, it's made in a slow cooker so all the work is done well before the crazy dinner hour. Bonus! Secondly, I don't like cooking meat, especially chicken. So a recipe that requires me to simply place it on top of some other ingredients, is a winner in my books. Other things I liked... it's healthy, has lots of protein, requires very little prep (ie. opening some cans) and is great for leftovers. And it was also a hit with my boys. It'll definitely only be eaten on a bath night around here in the future. Here's the recipe incase you want to try it!


1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans (I don't know what chili beans are so I used white kidney beans)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (I used chicken stock as I wanted it toddler friendly)
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I used crushed tomatoes with no green chilies...one 24oz. can)
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional... but who doesn't love cheese?!?)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional... but I recommend it!)


Directions
Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.


**Note: I mostly buy the "no salt" versions of canned goods and broth to keep the sodium down. I figure you can always add a little salt later if needed.**

1 comment:

the smiths said...

Thanks for sharing. Nice pic! :)