Southwestern Chicken Soup {Slow Cooker Recipe}

March 03, 2013

Southwestern Chicken Soup {Slow Cooker Recipe}

Winter keeps on hanging on... even though we are now officially in March! I don't know what it is, but my mind switches to spring as soon as we get into the month of March... the days are starting to get a little bit longer the sun is rising a little bit earlier (at least until daylight savings time begins again).

So, with the chill still in the air, I've still got soups and comfort food on my mind. A couple weeks ago I bit the bullet and finally purchased a new slow cooker... one with programmable features! Which one did I decide to buy after all of my searching and reading up on them... a very affordable Crockpot Programmable Touch Screen 6 1/2 quart slow cooker.

I purchased mine from Bed, Bath and Beyond rather than Amazon mainly because of the ease of being able to return and exchange for another product if it didn't work as expected.

I now wonder WHY I didn't jump in and get a programmable slow cooker sooner. I put it off for much too long and now I'm taking advantage of walking in the door at the end of the day to dinner being ready to eat when we are ready to sit down.

The programmable feature works beautifully... once the scheduled cook time is completed, it switches over to "warm" and keeps the food from over-cooking. I had been worried about this feature after reading many reviews but, so far it's worked exactly as I had hoped.

I've been trying more recipes now that I have more flexibility with this slow cooker. The soup I'm sharing here was inspired by one I found on Pinterest and the original post was by Back for Seconds Blog. My version is probably not as light as the original, but it is pretty healthy and one serving is so completely satisfying!

A little bit of shredded cheese on top compliments the added spice of this soup - which, both of My Boys love! It's so nice that they have developed a taste for spice and flavorful foods over the years! For those who have picky eaters, all I can say is keep trying... eventually, they will find some more complex flavors that suit them.

This soup is beyond simple to put together in the morning while throwing lunches and breakfast together... I have done it a couple of times now. And the time you spend in the morning will give you more free time in the evening to spend with the family or just kick back and catch up on reading magazines or some guilty pleasure tv shows.

Southwestern Chicken Soup

Recipe by Patsy K

Adapted from Back for Seconds Blog

Ingredients

28 ounces crushed tomatoes
15 ounces diced tomatoes - undrained
15 ounces kidney, pinto or black beans - rinsed and drained
15 ounces canned corn - drained
1 medium onion, chopped
4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
3 cups chicken broth

Cooking Directions

Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and stir once to ensure that the seasonings are distributed throughout.
Allow to cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred or cut into bite-sized pieces, then add back to the soup.