Southwestern Chicken...for days!

Southwestern Chicken...for days!

2 T chili powder

1 T ground cumin

1 t coriander

2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

6 lbs chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

2 large onions, finely chopped 

6 cloves minced garlic

1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes

116 oz pkg frozen sweet corn

In a large bowl, combine the spices.  Add the chicken and toss as best you can to coat.  Layer the onion, garlic and peppers on the bottom of the crock pot and top with the chicken.  Add the tomatoes with their juice and the corn.  Cook on high until chicken is tender, 4 hours.  Shred chicken and add some of the liquid to keep the chicken moist, but reserve most of the liquid, because it is the base to an awesome soup recipe...see below!

**The best part of this recipe is we use it for 3 different meals!  The first night, we either eat the shredded chicken over rice or quinoa, or we make burritos (add rice, avocado, cheese and salsa).  The second day can be burritos or tacos, just mix up the flavor with different toppings (a chipotle salsa or a salsa verde totally change the flavor).  The 3rd day if there is any chicken left, we add it to the soup recipe below, but if the chicken is all gone, the soup is awesome without too!

 Black Bean and Corn Tortilla Soup

4-5 C of the sauce/liquid and vegetables from the southwestern chicken recipe
1 or 2, 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
3 C low sodium chicken broth
8 corn tortillas, cut into small 1 inch squares
Any left over shredded chicken from the southwestern chicken recipe (it's ok if there isn't any)

Optional toppings: corn chips, cilantro, salsa and cheese

Combine the sauce-vegetable mixture, beans and broth in a soup pot.  Bring to a simmer.  Add corn tortilla pieces and chicken,   bring to a boil for 5 minutes.  Corn tortillas begin to break down and thicken the soup.  If it gets thicker than you like, just add more broth.  Serve with any of the toppings you like.

*This picture does not do this soup justice!  I'll get a better one.  The flavor from the crockpot sauce is amazing, and adding the corn tortillas gives it that extra earthy, Mexican feel!  I love it!

* recipes adapted from Ellie Krieger
*These recipes helped us survive basketball season.  It's a lot of chicken, feel free to half it, but Gray eats a ton of it for left overs and 3 real meals during the school week is really all we get these days!