Wednesday Eats and Treats: Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

In keeping with our theme of slow cooker meals after church on Sunday, I have another recipe to share. I put everything together in the slow cooker the night before, and then set the entire crock in the refrigerator. At 8:30 a.m., I nestled the crock into the heating unit, set the temperature to high and the timer to 4 hours, and went back to getting ready for church. It was cooked to perfection when we walked in the door. All I had to do was cut the chicken into bite size pieces, set out some tortilla chips, and put cheese in a bowl. I was glad I doubled the recipe, because the 9 of us ate almost all of the soup in one sitting!

This truly is the best Tortilla Soup I've ever tasted.  The thing that put it over the top may have been the homemade enchilada sauce. The original recipe called for canned enchilada sauce, which I usually keep in my pantry. I was out of the canned sauce, and I didn't even have any of those little packets for making it either. I did have all of the ingredients to make enchilada sauce, so at 2:30 a.m., I was stirring away in my kitchen. I've included the enchilada sauce recipe after the soup recipe.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless chicken -- I used boneless, skinless thighs
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes -- I used ones with green pepper and onion
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce (or 1 cup of homemade sauce)
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilis
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. back pepper
1 can hominy (or corn)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir.
2. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. (Be sure chicken is thoroughly cooked.)
3. To serve, place tortilla chips in bottom of bowl. Ladle soup over chips. Top with cheese, if desired. You can also top with sour cream and/or avocado.
4. Eat it by itself, or serve with green salad or guacamole.

Super Simple Enchilada Sauce 

(Makes approximately 6 cups)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup chili powder

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

3 cups water

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, heat oil. Stir in flour and chili powder, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly so the flour doesn't burn.
2. Slowly, stir in water and tomato sauce. Add spices and stir until smooth.
3. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
4. Extra sauce can be ladled into pint jars or zipper seal freezer bags and frozen for later use.