Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup

October 6, 2013: Happy CROCKtober, slow cooker lovers!! *Note- I wrote this almost a year ago... I have REALLY fallen behind on my posting!** Today we got back from one of my top two favorite vacations- to Costa Rica! We have spent the past week hiking to waterfalls (and kissing under them!), drinking coconut milk straight out of a coconut, monkey watching, zip lining, hot tubbing, laying out, and taking in some of the most amazing views I've ever seen. 

The sun rose about 5:00am every morning, but don't worry, I wasn't awake to see the sunrise. Many other people in our house were, though. We were so blessed to join Keri & Bradley, Bradley's cousin, Keely, and their other couple-friends, Cori and Jeff, on our trip. The four bedroom, two story home was incredible, and we had plenty of room for the seven of us to spread out and have both our private time with our significant others, but also all hang out together, too. 

Picture this: We went ziplining through the rainforest with howler monkeys hootin' and hollering' as we put our feet up and zoomed through the forrest upside down or superman style. 

We hiked down a hidden dirt road for 30 minutes, only to come across an oasis with three waterfalls feeding into it. And not just trickles on the side of a Colorado mountain waterfall- we're talking roaring, knock you off your feet, hundreds of feet tall waterfalls. 

We went to a wildlife refuge where we were a foot away from jaguars with only a chain link fence between us and their baring teeth. Well, this one doesn't look so malicious, but trust me, many of them looked like they could take me out in one fatal chomp!

We had a Kudamundi we named Mr. Wiggles who greeted us on the other side of the sliding glass door every day. We ate lunch with monkeys swinging in the trees 10 feet away. We had a personal golf cart to take to our meals in an open-air cafe where we were often the only patrons because it was the rainy season. We had Mixology class, Costa-Rican style and took over the bar for the afternoon. And, of course, we cheered on the Rangers and cooked out to the sound of parrots squawking and another storm rolling in.

When we came home, we were spent. We were exhausted from traveling, hungry for burgers, and feeling very very lazy. I wanted to make something that was as easy as possible, so I could focus on getting laundry done, re-organizing my life, and getting ready for the upcoming week. 

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1-2 tsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce (or more to taste)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)
•  15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 8 oz skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total)
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions, for topping
• 3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
• fat free sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. 
2. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. 
3. Slowly add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and chipotle adobo sauce and bring to a boil. 
4. Add cilantro and remove from heat. 
5. Pour into crock pot.
6. To the crockpot, add drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir.
7. Add the chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
8. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. 
9. Add chicken back into the soup, adjust salt and cumin to taste. 
10. Serve in bowls and top with fat free sour cream, cheese, scallions and cilantro. 

Keep on cookin'!
-Katherine