bluebird chic personal blog

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crockpot recipes part 2 – chicken tortilla soup

Sharing another favorite crockpot recipe today – inspired by my trip to Houston a couple of years ago for the International Quilt Show with Caroline and Maya Road. It was my first time trying the amazing Tex-Mex food they’re so famous for. This soup has a deep, rich flavor using only a variety of peppers! Don’t be afraid of heat – the cream in the soup definitely mellows it out. It’s perfect with a few warmed tortillas on the side for dipping, and a side of rice and beans is optional. And if timing is better for you, it’s easy to make this on the stove, too.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 can chopped green chilis

2 T unsalted butter

1 Anaheim pepper, deseeded and diced

1 red bell pepper, deseeded and diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

3 T sweet chili powder

1 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 c. all purpose flour

1 quart chicken stock/broth

2 c heavy cream

2 c potatoes, peeled and diced

 

3 medium sized chicken breasts

1 bag frozen corn

1 can cream style corn

1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Melt the butter in a skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add the peppers and cook, stirring, until they become clear. Add the dry spices and flour, and stir. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pour the chicken stock, heavy cream, potatoes, corn, cream style corn, and sauteed pepper mixture into the crockpot, set to to high. Add the raw chicken breasts, whole. Cook for two hours on high after the ingredients come to a boil – mine usually takes about 4 hours total, depending on how full the crockpot is, and how long it takes the ingredients to come up to temp.

Thirty minutes before serving, remove the cooked chicken breasts, dice, and return to the pot. Sprinkle the cheeses over the cooked soup, replace the cover for fifteen minutes and allow the cheeses to melt. Stir the cheeses into the soup, and it’s ready to serve with warmed flour tortillas, your favorite crackers, or a side dish of white rice.

We love this – it’s a total family favorite that everyone requests often, and despite a bit of working around the last thirty minutes before serving, it’s very easy. Enjoy!

crockpot recipe series part 1 – cheeseburger soup recipe


Once school gets in full swing around here, and activities like basketball keep us busy in the evenings, the crockpot becomes a big part of keeping healthy meals on the table for us. Late nights and time crunch doesn’t allow for many leisurely evenings over dinner prep. One of our family’s personal favorites is cheeseburger soup. I thought at first it sounded a bit strange, but after trying it, I’ve passed it on to my mom where it’s become a favorite of theirs, and she’s passed it along to lots of other people, too. And it all started with a friend passing the recipe along from another friend of hers. I follow the basics and modified what I needed to for our family and using the crockpot. I know if you give it a try, there’s a good chance it’ll become one of your family’s favorites, too.

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Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

1 pound ground beef

3/4 c. chopped onion

3/4 c. shredded carrots

3/4 c. chopped celery

Brown the ground beef, along with the onion, shredded carrots, and celery in a pan on the stove over medium high heat. Carefully drain the excess fat and place in your medium to large sized crockpot.

3 c. chicken stock or broth

1-1/2 c. low fat milk (we use 2%)

2 c. peeled, cubed russet potatoes

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried parsley

Add the above ingredients to the crockpot and cook on high. After the crockpot brings everything to a simmer, be sure that it cooks for a good two hours. Check to see that the potatoes are tender using a fork to gently poke them.

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the soup in the crockpot. Replace the lid for five minutes. Stir the melted cheese into the soup.

3 T. butter

1/4 c. all purpose flour

In a small pan on the stove, melt the butter, then stir in the flour. Using a whisk, stir the mixture (called a roux) into the soup to thicken it.

1/2 c. sour cream

Before serving, stir in the sour cream. Serve with biscuits and your favorite crackers on the side. Makes 4-6 bowls, depending on serving size. I usually double the recipe to feed our family. I would recommend a total cook time of 4 hours on high, though cook times will vary with each crockpot.

Bonus – my secret to amazing “pop can” biscuits:

I love a great homemade buttermilk biscuit as much as the next foodie, but these days, I’m super short on time. So lots of times, I work to find easier options and tweak them just a tiny bit to get amazing results. The biscuits that I serve with our homemade soups (pictured in the photos of this post) are a great example. Pillsbury Grands all the way. One day, after I had to start upping the quantity that I made to feed the hungry boys, I decided I couldn’t be bothered with using two sheets to bake them on, so instead, placed them on the sheet with their edges touching, all crowded together. This actually forced the biscuits to rise up, instead of spread out. Watch closely the first time you try – you might have to slightly adjust your bake time to make sure that they cook all the way through. It was only after I’d tried on my own that I noticed that they have a note on the can about baking them this way.  Too funny. Why not just tell us to bake them that way from the beginning? Oh, well! Happy making!

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hearty vegetable chili

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This is me. Wishing you a happy Monday morning. And I think if I had a cat, I might kick it. But I don’t, so no worries. (and I’ve never actually kicked a cat in my life. I’m just definitely not feeling this Monday. Yawn.)

I posted a photo of this chili on my instagram feed a couple of weeks ago, and had a few people asking for the recipe. This is one of my FAVORITES. And in fact, I’d probably make my family sick of it, if the weather was cool enough to serve it more often. I typically serve it with  corn bread, biscuits, or fresh bread from a local bakery on the side. It’s hearty, and filling, and yummy. This makes a big batch, but you could easily cut it in half. It also freezes nicely, so if you serve it for a dinner, you can toss the leftovers in the freezer and have a dinner in a couple of weeks if your family isn’t into leftovers. I use all organic or natural ingredients.

Hearty Vegetable Chili

1 qt. chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
2 (28 oz.) cans of whole tomatoes, chopped
3 medium to large stalks of celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
6 yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
3 T. sweet chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 T. cocoa powder
1 T. raw sugar
salt to taste (usually around 1 T for this large of a batch)

Add all of the ingredients to a large pot, bring to a boil, and turn down to a nice simmer. Stir occasionally. After about 30 minutes, the veggies will start to get tender.

Add:
1 c. tender white frozen corn kernels
1 can or box of black beans (I buy the new box versions available at Whole Foods)
1 can or box of kidney beans

Bring back to a boil and simmer for roughly another 30 minutes until the potatoes, carrots and celery are tender. Serve in bowls with grated cheddar cheese and soup crackers. Serves 8 large bowls.

Crockpot instructions: Place all of the ingredients except for the corn kernels, black beans, and kidney beans in the crockpot on high. In a pinch, you can add the beans and corn, too! Cook on high for roughly 4-6 hours. If you’re waiting on the other ingredients, add them 2 hours before serving. I do this because it keeps the beans from getting mushy, since they’re already cooked.

You could also add all of the ingredients at once and cook it on low for around 8 hours.