Finally! I have a Friday Morning free to type up a post. It seems as thought Spring has finally come to Central New York! I think farther upstate there is still some light snow, but it seems like the flowers can finally peek out from their hiding spots under the dead leaves. I’ve seen quite a few robins over the past week, even with all the rain we’ve had over the past week.
Just before I went on vacation I was given a recipe for a delicious soup called Chicken Taco Soup – super healthy and full of protein! After coming home from vacation I remade the soup and left out of the chicken to see what the difference would be – I actually prefer it that way!
I’m a bit of an tea lover. An addict. I could easily drink it constantly throughout the day. I know I’ve discussed my addiction to Chai. Be Proud readers! I’ve weaned myself to only ordering a small when I go to First Cup now! My other love is Green Tea, especially the SuperFruit one from Good Earth. My favorite tea however is usually from Loose Leaf tea. I adore Teavana for their tea. It’s been a while since I’ve ventured in so I was beyond ready to stock up today. Peachberry Jasmine Green Tea, Superfruit Unity Green Tea, Pomegranate Cranberry Herbal Tea and I even got a free Jade Dragon Mao Feng blend because I’d bought so much. Qualified for 10% off and had my lovely little $10 coupon and I got at least a years worth of tea for just under $45.
On to the recipe, I forgot to snap a picture of this. But trust me, it’s better that way. You might end up with your face plastered to the screen and hunger pangs in your tummy.
Taco Soup
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans (I used cannellini beans), rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can Reduced Sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 (15 ounce) can Reduced Sodium whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 carton Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
- 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
- sour cream (optional)
- crushed tortilla chips (optional)
Directions
Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.
Notes
*I found chicken to be completely optional in this, though if you leave it out it is in fact, more like a soup and less like a chili.
**I used Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream and loved it.
***I use reduced sodium options, including in the taco seasoning because my diet is low in salt. Use whatever you like! The original recipe called for beer instead of broth but I never have any of that around really, so broth it was!
****If you have fresh version of any of these I would imagine the soup would be that much better! I believe next time I will try going so far as to make my own beans.
BIG WARNING
This recipe is not for a small crock pot. Mine is 5QT and it overflowed each time I made this – less so without chicken. I’d advise using a bigger crock pot or reducing the recipe. Or what I did when I realized how much room I didn’t have: scoop some out before you put the chicken in and save it in a jar or bowl, and add later for left overs the next day 🙂 Really can’t beat a soup that never seems to end!
The Glazed Lyon 