Recipe Keeper - Homemade Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1. Essentially you're going to toss everything in and walk away, but because I like to explain the methods to my madness I'll go into a bit more detail for ya: 2. Turn your slow cooker to high and add broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomatillo salsa, beans and chicken breasts, whole. 3. Next dice your bell pepper, jalapeno, and onion and tear your corn tortilla into small pieces before tossing them into the pot as well. The corn tortillas help the soup to thicken a bit and also act as noodles! 4. Add your seasonings, fresh cilantro, olive oil, and lime juice cover. 5. Within a few hours the chicken breasts should be juicy and perfectly cooked, if you happen to be around, feel free to scoop them out with tongs or a fork, place them on a cutting board, and chop each breast into six large pieces. Now it'll shred oh-so-easily! Use two forks to create pulled/shredded chicken and add it back to your slow cooker. If you aren't home yet you can complete this step once you return. No worries! 6. The soup will simmer away on high for four-six hours [total time] and make your kitchen smell absolutely divine. 7. Steal a taste towards the end and add any extra spices or add-ins that float your boat. I typically add a little extra chili and garlic powder and a little fiery cayenne depending on my mood. You may want to add salt or might find that there was enough in your beans/tomatoes/broth to start and leave it as is! Since I add crushed tortilla chips to my final product I only add a pinch of salt to the entire pot. The chips add it in at the end and create the perfect ratio for me! As noted above you can add more broth or keep the soup nice and chunky. I love mine super-hearty so I can attack it with the tortilla chips and a small mountain of grated cheese and scoop up the soup nacho-style. Hot soup, melty cheese, and crunchy tortilla chips... I'm swooning again just thinking about it. Clearly it's time to make another pot!