Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my favorite meals when I do not have time to stand over a stove and cook! I make my tortilla soup in a slow cooker so if I have an hour in the morning or the afternoon - and no time at night, I can still have a nice dinner ready whenever I want or need! The beauty of this soup, in my opinion, is that you can literally put whatever vegetables you want in it. I kept it pretty traditional when I made my tortilla soup but I had a leftover carrot so I threw that in as well. 

You will need no longer then one hour of prep (I've got a troublesome can opener!) and 3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-7 hours on LOW to cook. I really don't think there's a difference in taste - I feel its more up to when you have time (morning or afternoon).

My recommendation is to chop up all your veggies first:

1 small onion

1 carrot (tossed in a leftover veggie)

1-2 jalapenos (depends on how spicy you'd like it)

1 bag frozen corn (I didn't have enough time to prep fresh corn)

1 can whole tomatoes OR diced tomatoes 

1 large can of tomato paste (not many recipes include tomato paste but I use it to thicken the soup naturally)

1 can black beans (any beans will do and it will add more protein!)

Cilantro

Drain your beans but add the liquid from the can whole/diced tomatoes. Add about 10-12 oz of enchilada sauce (I found an awesome dairy free version at Trader Joes as they usually have some form of milk. At this point you should have a ton of awesome, colorful veggies in your slow cooker with some liquids. Add your chicken (strips, cubes, whatever you desire) to your slow cooker and then add enough chicken broth to cover everything and set to cook!

When your meal is ready, top with crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, and sour cream/cheese! :)

For an easy access list, the following are ingredients needed to make this delicious soup:

1 bag or 1 husk of corn

1 can whole or diced tomatoes + sauce

1 large can tomato paste

1 small onion

1-2 jalapenos

1 can black beans drained

10-12 oz enchilada sauce

Around 4 1/2 cups or 36 fl oz of chicken broth

1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast

Cilantro

ENJOY! :)