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Tortilla Soup – Slow Cooker Style
By: Kelly Martin
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I’m a bit of a finicky eater that doesn’t like fancy food. I grew up in a meat and potato kind of environment, and tried Mexican food only because they served tacos with my elementary school lunch.
As a child I could guarantee that dinner would consist of some kind of meat (probably fried), potatoes (which I had to peel every day of my childhood) and a vegetable.
Last fall, while looking for slow cooker recipes on allrecipes.com, I came across a recipe for Tortilla Soup. Since I’m a meat-and-tater-kind-of-lady, something like Tortilla Soup has never been on my radar. But, I was intrigued.
After reading positive reviews on the website (More than 2,700!) I decided I had to give it a try.
Example of the positive reviews for this soup: "This tortilla soup tastes better than anything you can get at a restaurant. And it's healthy too! Don't let the long list of ingredients fool you. All you do is dump everything into the slow cooker and walk away. Garnish with grated Cheddar, avocadoes, and a splash of fresh lime juice."
Well, for goodness sakes. After reading this review I just had to try this soup.
I didn’t garnish with avocadoes, but the reviewers were right! It’s a very unique recipe, with a great flavor that is easy to make.
Tortilla Soup – Slow Cooker Style
Ingredients
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
Directions
1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, 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 setting 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.
Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.
My suggestions: The reviews give numerous possible changes and additions. A few things I changed: I didn’t cook the chicken. If you are cooking something in the slow cooker for 8 hours, than why would you need to cook it ahead of time? I guess it might change the consistency, but it’s not really necessary. It’s hard to believe this recipe didn’t include beans, which are such a staple in Mexican food. I included black beans, which gave it a little more of a hearty flavor and makes it a little more filling. I also cheated with the tortilla strips. In the salad section are tortilla strips you can use or you could always grab a bag of tortilla chips from the snack section.