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.