Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup with Oven-Baked Tortilla Chips

There are not many things better in this world than the feeling of knowing you have a delicious dinner cooking away in your home while you are at work.  Every now and then, I really crave this soup from a place deep within my soul.  Knowing that it is wrapping our house up like a blanket with savory warmth while hubby and I are working is simply blissful.

  

I have actually already blogged about a similar chicken tortilla soup (in 2013), but my previous version was not made in a slow cooker.  This one uses many of the same ingredients, except I let the slow cooker cook the chicken this time around and added earthy cumin to the veggies while cooking.  I also sliced up some flour tortillas and popped them in the oven for homemade "chips".  This meal is a WINNER!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup with Oven-Baked Tortilla Chips

Source: my own

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 green pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

1 32 oz. box of chicken stock 

1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I also threw in about 1/2 cup black beans I had in the fridge)

1 cup-ish frozen corn

1 can of diced tomatoes

4 soft flour tortillas (large or small size)

1 lime, cut into wedges

handful of fresh cilantro

garlic powder

dried cumin 

olive oil

S&P

optional toppings:  sour cream, avocado, shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese

The Process:

This first part is optional, but it definitely adds a special dimension of flavor to the soup.  Warm up a pan with a little olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.  Cook the diced onion and green pepper for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While cooking, add in a few shakes of cumin powder.  Remove from heat, and set aside.

Pour the chicken stock into the crock pot.  Place the chicken breasts into the bath of chicken stock. Add the kidney beans, black beans (if desired), can of diced tomatoes, corn, and some S & P.  Add the cooked onions and peppers.  Stir gently to combine.  Cover, and cook for approx. 6 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.  You can then break apart the chicken with a fork while it is still in the crock pot; it should fall apart pretty easily after the soup has cooked for a few hours. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  When you are almost ready to serve the soup, stack the flour tortillas, and slice them as you would slice a pizza.  Place them on a pan (it's OK if they are on top of one another a bit), and drizzle with a little olive oil, a few shakes of garlic powder, and a little salt.  Bake for about 10 minutes until brown and crispy.  Watch them, they cook quickly!

Squeeze a wedge of lime into each bowl of soup, and serve with more lime if desired.  Place the chips into the soup, and top with your desired toppings.  I added a sprinkle of sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper to each bowl right before serving. 

ENJOY!