Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Julie:  I love slow cooker meals.  You throw everything in a pot, head to work and when you get home you have a piping hot meal ready and waiting for you.   So, on tonight's menu: Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Ingredients

• 1 pound shredded, cooked chicken (We just threw the frozen chicken in and let it cook along with the soup)
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed (We used one can of diced tomatoes)
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (We used "hot")
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups water (We replaced with more chicken broth)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf (We omitted)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn (We omitted)
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (We used dried cilantro)
• 7 corn tortillas (We used store bought tortilla chips)
• vegetable oil

Directions

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

And here is our final product!

Chad:  I love anything spicy.  If I don't hurt while I am eating it, it's probably not any good.  This soup was definitely spicy.  The sour cream and crumbled tortilla chips added some creaminess and texture.  I don't tend to like soups, but this is one of my favorites.

Julie: I think the soup turned out pretty well.  The sour cream adds a nice creaminess to the soup.  However, if you don't like spicy, then you might want to go with "mild" or "medium" enchilada sauce.  The ease of preparation is worth some points in my book.  Overall, this is a pretty low calorie soup, but is perhaps a bit high in sodium.

If you try this soup, let us know how yours turned out and what you think!