Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Whew!  I can't believe how long it's been since I posted something, but it just might be a long time before I do another one, too!!  I make no promises when the next one will show up, so just come back every so often to check.

This recipe was so easy, and tasted so good, with stuff that I bet is already in your pantry, that I thought I better share it with you. 

The hubby had to leave early this morning to start meetings at 6 a.m., so I thought I'd surprise him and actually have something for us to eat when he/I got home from church this afternoon.  (Trust me, it IS a surprise when I cook something, especially without him asking "So, what's for dinner?" first!!  I really hate that question!  I always feel like saying:  "I don't know, what are you fixing?!"  I know, I'm bad!)

The recipe came from allrecipes.com, makes 8 servings and is super easy!  Hope you like it.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 lb. shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 oz.) can whole peeled
       tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen corn, or a can of corn
1 T chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies, 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 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.

(I used green enchilada sauce, canned corn, 1 pint of my bottled chicken and garlic powder.  To garnish the soup, I sprinkled grated cheese over the tortilla strips then added a dollop of sour cream on top.  Oh yeah, and I didn't have any cilantro, so I just threw in some dry basil and dry parsley.)

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

Oh my gosh!  The name of this soup is absolutely,.... well, just does not adequately describe it.  Not nearly enough praise!  I really, really love this stuff!  (Can you tell?!) 

One of the women in our ward has been sick, so I made it for her and her hubby last week.  Their teenage granddaughter was there, too.  I had no more than gotten back home after delivering it to them when the granddaughter called to say she'd gotten my number from her grandparents so she could tell me they thought it was the best potato soup they'd ever eaten!  Of course, I already knew that!! ;) But it was really nice to have someone go to the effort to tell me they liked it, too.

My daughter, Andrea, gave this recipe to me back in 2006 and we've loved it ever since. (Thanks, babe! xox)  She got it off allrecipes.com and it is still there. 

I have made some very minor changes in quantities only.  Not sure why, but it just worked out that way.  The changes don't alter the taste at all, but gives a little more soup, which is a good thing!  Oh wait... I just remembered that I did add diced carrots to the original recipe... a good move!  The carrots add a nice visual, as well as taste, to the soup.  I make the dices relatively small.... celery and carrots maybe 1/2" dices.  Potatoes are maybe 1/2"to1" x 1", give or take... it's not rocket science... just cut them small enough that they will cook quickly.

The last time I made this, I started the rue (butter and flour thickener), and for some reason, the butter browned really fast and never started thickening... not sure why this happened, maybe the heat was too high, but I ended up throwing it away and starting over with margarine.... worked just fine... just like all the other times I made it.  Oh, yeah, and this time I even used reconstituted non-fat dry milk and it was still rich and amazing!

I'm pretty sure this will become one of your favorites, too.  It is really easy to make and fairly quick.  The original recipe says it is ready in 45 minutes... I don't know for sure because I've never paid attention to the time.  All I know is it really is good!  Also, the original recipe says eight servings...  Don't plan to actually SERVE eight people, however, because everyone will want seconds!  The pot I used is a big pot, so this picture doesn't really accurately show how much the recipe makes.

Enjoy!

DELICIOUS HAM & POTATO SOUP

4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup diced, cooked ham
3 1/2 cups water
2 T. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 t. salt, or to taste
1/2 t. ground white or black pepper, or to taste
6 T. butter or margarine
6 T. all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups milk

1.  Combine the potatoes, celery, carrots, onion, ham and water in a stock pot.
2.  Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3.  Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
4.  In a separate saucepan, melt butter/margarine over medium-low heat.
5.  Whisk in flour with a fork or wire whisk and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute.
6.  Slowly stir in milk, being careful to not allow lumpsto form, until all of the milk has been added.
7.  Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
8.  Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot and cook soup until heated through.
9.  Serve immediately.

Easy Burros

These are so good and way easier!  I received this recipe from a friend here in Heber/Overgaard about 10 years ago... V. Hausmann.  Thanks again for this great little recipe.

I have, of course, changed things just a little, but the original is really, really good, especially if you don't want to go the Chimichanga route.  The biggest reason for the change is that the canned beef available now, it seems, is different than it use to be.  The directions say to drain the beef, reserving the gravy.  Well, the gravy just doesn't drain off!  There is very little liquid to pour off, so I warmed up the beef in a small skillet to melt the gravy, then poured it into a microwave safe bowl, added the chopped green chilies and the corn starch, stirred it all up and then microwaved it for a couple of minutes until it was thick.  I then put  it in the skillet with the meat, added the beans (I used pintos) and then heated all of it well. 

Then I put the filling on flour tortillas, rolled them up and placed them seam side down in a baking dish.  I poured on some green enchilada sauce, topped it with cheese and put it in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Dang!  They are so good! 

Put a little rabbit food on the side and a dollop of sour cream on top, YUUUMMM!  (OK, so I forgot the sour cream in the picture... use your imagination!) :)

Give 'em a try... I bet you'll like them, too!

Easy Burros

1 can (12 oz.) beef, drained, reserving gravy

1 can chopped green chilies.

1T cornstarch

1 can black beans

Combine gravy, green chilies, and cornstarch.

Microwave 1-2 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until thick.

Add beef & can of black beans.

Fill tortillas & heat in microwave for 1 minute.

Zucchini Casserole

 I love this casserole!  I got it from another temple buddy...   S. Graham, back in July.  It really is tasty and easy.  Thanks for sharing, S. xox  (Excuse the less than appetizing picture... I didn't think to take a picture until after I had served dinner out of it!)

It says to use a 9x9" baking dish, but I add a pint jar of my canned/bottled chicken which makes it too much for that size dish.  To compensate for a larger baking dish, I either use 2 boxes of stuffing mix (Stove Top) or toast 4-6 slices of bread, crumble it into small pieces and add some of the same spices in the packaged product, plus add a bit more margarine.



It's a nice comfort-food-type meal... I've made it several times, with and without the added chicken. 

Zucchini Casserole

6 cups shredded or  diced (about 1/2") zucchini, unpeeled

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup water

Combine and microwave:  above 3 ingredients in a
        covered dish for 5-6 minutes.  Drain well.

Melt: 1 stick margarine, (1/2 c.)

Combine: Melted margarine and 1 pkg. (6 oz.) dry
        stuffing mix (Stove Top) with seasoning pkt.
        NO water.  Mix well.

Combine in large bowl and blend well:

        1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

        1 cup sour cream

        1 cup shredded cheese

Add:  drained zucchini and onions, blend well.

Put:   1/2 stuffing mixture in 9x9" baking dish.

Add:  zucchini mixture.

Top:  with remaining stuffing mix.

Bake: at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serves: 4 to 6

Opt.  Add cooked chicken (12 oz. can or leftovers).
       4-6 crumbled slices toast plus desired seasonings.
         (Check stuffing mix box to see what they use.)

Cowboy Stew

Howdy, folks!  This is my all-time, go-to, dinner-in-a-hurry recipe!  It tastes wonderful, is quick and easy to throw together, and I haven't found anyone yet who doesn't like it. 

I got this recipe from a friend, A. Hensley, but as soon as I started talking about it, I was promptly informed by her sister, P. Blackburn, that the recipe is HERS, not A.'s.  So, since I love 'em both,  I'll give credit here to a couple of nifty sisters!  Thanks for sharing it with me and now the blogging world.

One day on my way home from Snowflake, AZ I learned of the passing of a good friend's husband.  When I got back to Heber-Overgaard, I stopped by her house before heading home.  I felt so bad for her and her family... what a hard thing.  Anyway, she was expecting her sons and their families up from the Mesa/Phoenix area any minute.  I left her, went home, opened a bunch of cans and popped the lid off a jar of my canned hamburger, threw the stew together and was back to her house with it hot and ready to eat in less than an hour, TOTAL! ...including travel time!  They loved it and still talk about it.  She's still amazed that something that tasted that good was so quick to make. 

It's a complete meal in itself but, of course, you can always add a salad, some bread/rolls and butter or the Kickin' Crackers from my last post.  It's a winner and especially with the cool weather approaching rapidly, this will probably become one of your family's favorites, too.

The recipe calls for 1 lb. of browned ground beef.  I'm sure that is wonderful, but I always use my bottled/canned ground beef.  Makes it soooo quick!

Also, sometimes I throw in a handful of dehydrated onions and some granulated beef bouillon, but it is really not necessary... just something I do once in a while.  If I was going to use fresh hamburger, I'd probably saute some onions to go with the browned meat.... we like onions.

One change we've made is to substitute just about any other kind of beans for the kidney beans.  My family doesn't care for them.  I normally use either pinto or great northern white beans.  Anything your family likes, go for it.

It is important NOT to drain the Ranch Style beans as that is where the unique flavor comes from.  In fact, I always rinse the can to get all the sauce out.  AND it is important not  to add extra salt.  There is plenty of salt in the canned stuff.  Additionally, I always take my kitchen shears and cut up the stewed tomatoes since I prefer small chunks of tomatoes...

It is just as easy to double or triple this recipe, if you have a large enough pot, to feed a big group.  Also, if you'd like it a little soupier, just add some water... easy peasy!

Cowboy Stew

1 can Ranch Style beans, undrained

1 can kidney beans, rinsed & drained (or substitute for your favorite beans)

1 can corn, undrained

1 can green beans, undrained

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes

1 lb. ground beef, browned

Drain and rinse kidney beans.  Add all ingredients into a large pot.  Heat thoroughly.  EAT!  That's All Folks!!