Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

Is there a more perfect time for a slow cooker recipe than at the holidays? I think not. After all the shopping, gift wrapping, check-book balancing, cookie baking, and making sure the hubby's not falling off the roof-ing (hehe), there's not a lot of energy left for cooking. Back when the hubby and I lived in Portland, this wasn't such big deal. We had many (quick) options for feeding ourselves somewhat healthy. We were within 5 minutes of Whole Foods, walking distance of of handful of restaurants, and had a kitchen drawer full of menus from restaurants that deliver. Ah, the old days. Today though? Our grocery store doesn't offer the options of Whole Foods (fresh salad bars, amazing hot soups, made-to-order sandwiches), we are within a 20 minute drive to the nearest restaurant, and delivery? That's a no-go. I cook a heck of a lot more here in Kentucky that I ever did in Oregon, which in itself has positives and negatives.

The negatives? I've got to bring the energy a lot more often. It's harder to have an evening where you say "Psssshhhhh, I don't feel like cooking. To hell with it, let's order a pizza!". It does cut down on some spontaneity. But the positives? We eat a lot healthier here in Kentucky, believe it or not. We get to cook our meat exactly how we like, we get to eat a lot of variety, and we always know what's in our food. And when that food comes out of the slow cooker, oh, that's a winning day for Jessica. It truly feels like you didn't have to cook, but you still get all the benefits that come with cooking a homemade meal.

This is a slow cooker recipe to tuck in your back pocket. You must try it! It utilizes pantry ingredients (I had everything on hand to get the soup started), it makes a large batch, and it smells to-die-for while it's cooking. The hubby was running in and out of the house the whole day this was cooking, and every time he came inside, he drooled and wanted to know when the soup would be done. And I've said this many times in the past, the hubby doesn't even like Mexican food that much. A true-win.

This soup kind of reminded me of Tortilla Soup in the fact that you can customize each bowl with your own toppings.

The soup starts with 2 chicken breasts.

To which you add 2 cans of black beans, 1 can of corn, a diced onion, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of diced green chilies, and a good-sized helping of garlic.

Next, you get to add the enchilada sauce. I used homemade. The hubby detoxed right after Thanksgiving, going on a juice-only diet, so I made a batch of enchiladas for me to eat throughout the week. Mmmm, mmmm good. I made the sauce from my Sour Cream and Chicken Enchiladas. So good.

Add in chicken broth and that yummy, yummy enchilada sauce.

Give it a stir, seal er' up, and let her go for 6-8 hours. My crockpot runs on the warm side, so my chicken was perfectly cooked in 5 1/2 hours on low.

Add your toppings, and dinner is served!

I like a variety of toppings, but by all means, use only the ones you want. Some might call it overkill to have green onion slices and minced red onion. I say, whatever. Love me some onion.

The hubby does not share that opinion :-)

So, the hubby and I were talking yesterday. We decided to put as many days between our stomach bug and making the cookies as possible. Which means I'm not starting them today. I'll probably start them on Sunday and hope I'm not too rushed to mail them out on Tuesday. It's going to be tricky. Hopefully this will make all of my family receiving cookies feel a little bit better.

On another note, I finally get to go see a neurosurgeon today about my back. Hallelujah. I'm ready to get this show on the road, as I've only been running once a week to keep the back pain to a minimum. I'm getting pretty tired of doing yoga all the other days. Since my appointment is in Ashland, the hubby and I are getting new tires put on the car for our journey to Illinois next week. Sorely needed!

That's all that's happening here. What's happening in your neck of the woods? Anyone have any exciting weekend plans?

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy Friday!

Ingredients (serves 8-10):

2 chicken breasts
2 (14 oz) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 oz) can of corn, drained
1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (4 oz) can of diced green chilies, undrained
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 1/2 cups Enchilada Sauce (sub your favorite store-bought sauce!)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

toppings: more cilantro, shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips, sliced green onion, diced red onion, and diced avocado (toppings are optional- use what you like)

Directions:

1. Add chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, chilies, onion, garlic, broth, sauce, salt, and cumin to a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Place lid on slow cooker, and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Soup is done when chicken shreds easily with a fork.
2. Shred all the chicken with 2 forks. Stir in cilantro.
3. Ladle soup into bowls, and serve with desired toppings.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven.

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

Tortilla Soup

Creamy Chicken, White Bean, and Green Chile Soup

Spanish Rice Soup

Linked to: Create It Thursday, Thank Goodness It's Thursday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Treasure Box Tuesday