Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tonight I was going to make Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken, but I ran out of one ingredient and instead of going to the store I decided to use what was in my cupboard.  Since tonight is windy and cold I thought it would be a perfect night to make Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Gusts to 48 MPH and the temp has already dropped to 31 degrees and supposed to drop all the way down to 18 tonight...BRRRR!!!

 This soup will definitely warm you up though!   I checked my cupboard and I had everything except the cilantro and black beans so I decided to move forward with the recipe and prepare it with what I had.  I love beans, but the rest of the family can live without them so I am sure it will be alright.  We have some shredded cheese and some tortilla chips from New Year's Eve so we topped the soup with those.

The original recipe can be found HERE if you would like to check it out.  Here is the recipe I made with a few minor modifications for what I had on hand.

YUM!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 to 1-1/2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Can Original Ro-Tel
1 Can Red Gold Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles
1 Can Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Can Corn, drained
1-1/2 TBS Minced Onion
1 32oz Container of Chicken Stock (4 cups)
1 TBS Garlic Powder
1 TBS Chile Powder
1 TBS Cumin
1 Packet of Ranch Dressing Dry Mix

1. Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker except for chicken.  Mix well
2. Place chicken on top and make sure they are submerged in the juice
3. Cook on low 8-10 hours
4. When done shred chicken and then serve

Top with sour cream, salsa, cheese, chips, avocado, or whatever else you like!  Simple and most people will have these ingredients on hand which makes it so much nicer to make.  I know I enjoy making a good meal without multiple trips to the store ;)

The next time I make it I will swap one can of the tomatoes w/ chiles for a can of regular diced tomatoes.  I really liked it and enjoy the extra kick, but the other members in my household...not so much.  They all liked it, but there is a bit of bite to it.  I can always add more spice to my own if I need to, but it is hard to make it milder for everyone else. 

Since, it is a bit spicy for the others I will be freezing these in single servings for myself to have for lunch.  That's always a bonus :)  Just pop in the microwave and enjoy!