Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

I made this awesome slow cooker chicken tortilla soup last night, so I thought I would share the recipe.  My mom sent me this recipe a while ago, but I made some minor modifications to it this time around, and it turned out fantastically well!  It is full of lean protein and makes a hearty meal.  The flavor is chili-like, although the soup is more broth-based than chili-style.  I love it - and it's a good thing, because I live alone, so I will be eating it for the next week!

Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup - garnished with sour cream, a tortilla chip, and a sprinkle of chili powder

This recipe only has four "hard" parts:

1.  Chopping the onion
2.  Mincing the garlic
3.  Shredding the cooked chicken
4.  Trying not to eat the whole pot once it's finished!  :)

The rest of the recipe is just dumping everything into a slow cooker and waiting for it to cook.  I find the easiest way to make this soup is to start the recipe in the morning before I go to work.  Then, I shred the chicken first thing when I get home in the evening, and I eat it an hour or so later.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Makes 3.5 quarts
165 calories per cup

Ingredients
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 19-ounce can dark red kidney beans, including liquid
1 15.5-ounce can black beans, including liquid
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, including liquid
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 15.25-ounce can whole-kernel sweet corn, drained
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup chicken stock
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total weight)

Instructions
1.  Mix onion, garlic, kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes with chiles, tomato sauce, corn, taco seasoning, and chicken broth in 4-quart (or larger) slow cooker.  Stir well until completely mixed.
2.  Place chicken breasts on top of soup mixture.  Push to the bottom of the slow cooker so the chicken breasts are completely covered with liquid.
3.  Cook on low heat 6-8 hours.
4.  Remove chicken breasts from soup.  Shred into pieces with two forks.  Add shredded chicken back into soup.
5.  Continue cooking for another 1-2 hours to allow flavors to soak into shredded chicken.
6.  Serve alone, or garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, and/or a dash of chili powder.

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!  Just the thing to warm you up on a cold wintry day.  :)

Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup - garnished with sour cream, a tortilla chip, and a sprinkle of chili powder