Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite things about winter are the soups! I love a nice hot bowl of soup on a cold day. One that goes on our soup rotation is this Chicken Tortilla soup. This soup is a great because it's such an easy crock pot soup!

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

1 cup Pace Thick & Chunky Salsa
2 cans Condensed Chicken soup
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts (put these in frozen)
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 soup can of water
1 tsp. ground cumin

*Optional- roasted hatch chili peppers cut into small pieces. They add just a little bit of heat (varies from pepper to pepper) and great flavor.

Toppings
Tortilla Chips
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
fresh chopped cilantro

Stir salsa, soup, chicken, corn, beans, water and cumin in a 4 quart slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours. Once the chicken is cooked, shred inside pot with a fork. Serve and add toppings! Ymmy!

Chicken Tostada's

Ok, so I've heard them to also be called Tinga's but because I'm so Americanized we will just call them Chicken Tostada's! :) Now if you check my blog for recipes you'll know that most of mine come with more "instruction" than anything! So no difference on this one either! Let's just say I really shouldn't ever go into the recipe book writing business any time soon! :)

Chicken Tostada's

• Shredded Chicken*
• Tostada's (I prefer the brand Perico)
• Sour Cream
• Mexican Cheese, Cotija
• Cabbage/Lettuce (your preference)
• Fresh Salsa

Steps:
1. place tostada on plate
2. cover tostada with shredded chicken
3. add sour cream (if you like it)
4. lettuce or cabbage
5. fresh salsa
6. sprinkle crumbled cheese over top
7. ENJOY!

*Shredded Chicken
For the chicken I usually take some bone in chicken breasts or thighs and add them to a pot of water with a few seasonings; 2 to 3 whole cloves, a piece of garlic, a few slices of onion, salt & pepper. Let boil until chicken is cooked through. Then I'll remove the chicken from the pot and let cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle I begin removing all the bones and shredding it by hand.

*Fresh Salsa
Dice up tomatoes, jalapenos and onions. Finely chop cilantro and mix all together.