Slow Cooker revisited

As I have said on these pages before, the slow cooker is one of my favorite tools to use in the kitchen. Nothing beats throwing a few ingredients in before I leave for work and coming home to a finished soup or chili for dinner. Monday, I made up a chicken tortilla soup. I threw in some leftover chicken from the night before (precooked rotisserie chickens from Kroger are a cook's best friend) along with an assortment of veggies, spices, chicken stock, and beans. I set the cooker to low and walked away. I returned home later that day to a fragrant house and a delicious batch of chicken tortilla soup. I toasted off some corn tortillas in the oven and topped the bowl with some sour cream, cheese, and cilantro. Presto - warm, delicious, dinner in less than 10 minutes.

  

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla soup

Ingredients:

• 1lb cooked chicken meat, shredded
• 6 cups chicken broth (pref. low sodium)
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 tbsp jalapenos, diced
• 8 oz uncooked black beans
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 1 14.5 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
  
• corn tortillas
• sour cream, cilantro, chopped avocado, or other desired toppings

Combine chicken, stock, vegetables, and spices in slow cooker. Set cooker to low and cook for 6-8 hours. Before serving, coat tortillas with thin layer of vegetable oil, cut into strips, and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until crisp. Serve alongside tortilla strips and topped with sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and avocado.