I was working with the below recipe the other day and my three year old twins were helping with stirring the mixture. That is until one of them splashed an enormous amount of crushed tomato out of the pot and spewed all over the floor and countertops. I had some extra tomatoes from the CSA, which I diced and added to the pot. The final result was a brighter-looking soup.
This is a great recipe if you have some extra salsa sitting in the fridge.
Mexican Chicken Soup For Slow-Cooker
Ingredients:
- 1 – 1.5 lb boneless chicken breast
- 1 15 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes crushed or diced
- 1/2 jar of favorite salsa sauce (lessen amount if the jar is labeled ‘hot’)
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2-4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 oz. or less of green chiles with juice (optional)
- 1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 10-16 oz. package of corn (canned or frozen)
- 2 cups water
- 1 14.5oz can of chicken broth or vegetarian equivalent
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, fresh or dried
Directions:
Place chicken, tomatoes, salsa, onion, chilies and garlic in slow-cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth. Stir in garbanzo beans, corn and cilantro. Add all spices (see note). Cover and cook on Low for 8 – 10 hours or 4 – 5 hours on High. Just before serving take out the chicken breasts and ‘flake’ or dice with a fork and knife, then return to the pot. Remove bay leaf.
Serve with blue tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Serves 4-6
Note: To save time, I will make snack bag packages of all the spices in advance. Then when the time comes to add them I just pull out a bag, dump the contents into the pot, done. No need to dig into my extensive spice collection or worry that I might not have enough on hand.
