Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I told y'all I was in a soup mood.
If you are too, then you are going to love this one! Oh, and don't forget to check out all the soups I have here on The Country Cook in the Recipe Index.  There is a whole section just for soups!
Many of them are made in the slow cooker too.

Now, I don't want y'all to look at the list of ingredients and get overwhelmed here.
I promise this won't take you more than 5-10 minutes to throw in the crock pot.
It can easily be put on before you go to work in the morning and be ready by the time you get home.
I just love meals like this. 
Serve with some cornbread and you have a whole meal and possibly leftovers for your work lunch tomorrow.

And also, like any recipe I share on here, feel free to add to this what you love.
Diced avocadoes, black beans and fresh cilantro would all be really tasty in this.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 0z.) can beef (or chicken) broth
1 cup water
1 can (15 oz.) corn, undrained
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (11 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1 packet taco seasoning
½ tsp. chili powder (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste
shredded cheese, for topping
crunchy tortilla strips, for topping

corn not pictured...oops
Also, I'm using frozen chicken breasts here. You can use fresh or frozen.
Also, additional chili powder is optional. It adds a bit of extra kick to it but there is already chili powder in the taco seasoning so the additional chili powder is just a matter of taste here.

Directions:
Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your crock pot. Season with a bit of salt & pepper.
 Add in diced onions and minced garlic.
Then pour in beef stock.

 And water.

 Then add in corn, diced tomatoes and enchilada sauce.  

 Sprinkle in taco seasoning and chili powder.

 Then give it all a good stir.

Put the cover on and cook on low for about 8-10 hours.

About 10-15 minutes before serving, take the chicken breasts out and shred them using two forks.  
The chicken will shred very easily.

 Or you can use the trick I saw on Pinterest. 
Put the chicken breasts in your stand mixer and turn on low.

 It will shred up your chicken pretty good.
I think it is possible to over-shred so keep an eye on it unless you want chicken bits.

Then put shredded chicken back in pot. Stir again.  Let cook for additional 15 minutes.
Then serve and top with shredded cheese and crispy tortilla strips.

I'm using these crunchy tortilla strips. 
They can usually be found in the aisle where the salad fixings are located (near the croutons).  
If you can't find these - no worries - just used crushed tortilla chips.
Or you could cut up some fresh tortillas into strips and throw them into the soup about 20 minutes before 
soup is finished if you want a softer tortilla in your soup.

As for cheese, it's really a matter of taste but I like this Mexican four cheese blend.
This kind with a touch of cream cheese in it melts really well and adds such great flavor to this soup.

Cook’s Notes: Feel free to add any beans you like in here.  Black beans go well with this soup. 

Also, some folks like to top this with diced avocado as well as fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe Here