Monday Crock Pot Recipe of the week

I am going to try something a little new here.  Thanks to Pinterest I have added several new recipes to my rotation. 

For me a recipe is a keeper if:

• It uses ingredients that are common to my cabinets
• Is little work to pull together
• Takes less than 40 mins beginning to end OR can be placed in the crock pot and left on it's own

Crock pot recipes for me are WINNERS.  I work a lot and pretty long days.  So when I can place something in the CP and come home at night to dinner ready - SCORE!

One of my absolute FAVORITE CP recipes over the past few months is Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I found it on Pinterest and it led me to Miller Musings.  She has several really good recipes, but this one has been my favorite so far.

I have modified it slightly but have linked to Miller Musings so that you can see her original recipe as well as a photo of her finished product (I am unable to upload a photo - Blogger You Suck)

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts - raw
2 10oz cans of diced tomatoes (you can use the ones with green chile's or plain)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 Cups of frozen Green Beans and Peas (the orig recipe calls for corn)
1 onion, chopped
2 14.5oz cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1 Tbsp garlic powder*
1 Tbsp chili powder*
1 Tbsp ground cumin*
1 Tbsp dried cilantro* (I never use Cilantro- just because it isn't a spice I readily have)

tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

*Instead of these spices, you could include a packet of Taco seasoning if you prefer.*

Put chopped onion, cans of beans, tomatoes, veggies, chicken broth, water, and spices in Crock Pot and stir to mix. Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving remove the chicken breasts from soup and shred, if needed, (sometimes they'll just fall apart on their own, but sometimes they need some help). Return chicken to Crock Pot, stir to combine.

To serve put a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream, serve with more chips or corn bread. Enjoy!

(You can make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth and no chicken)