Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (Spicy Version)

I loved having this soup for my work-week lunches this past week; I did not tire of it one bit.  I loved it even more as the week progressed.  The addition of the cool, creamy yogurt just before serving is the key!  I decided to make a spicier version of the soup for this week's lunches; I replaced the can of fire roasted diced tomatoes with a can of Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles).  Also, I eliminated the can of corn (I think there was enough of a corn flavor in the soup from the corn tortillas) and I doubled the amount of black beans.  I still had a ton of the white corn tortillas on my counter top from the first batch of soup.  I think the package contains 30 corn tortillas and the package cost less than $2.00... very economical.  I've been enjoying the white corn tortillas in lots of other dishes this week.  I have not had them in years.  Good stuff!  Here's what I did for Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (Spicy Version):

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (Spicy Version)
Adapted from a recipe posted by Reeni on her blog http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/

1 1/2 - 2 pounds chicken breast, skinless, boneless, trimmed of fat
2 cans (14 ounce) low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (10 ounce) Rotel Original diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can (4 ounce) green chiles (I used fire roasted green chiles & drained them a bit first)
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
6 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch thin strips (I used white corn tortillas)
2 cans (14 ounce) black beans (drained and rinsed)
Plain, low fat yogurt, for serving (or sour cream)

1. To the slow cooker, add chicken breasts, broth, Rotel, green chiles, onion, all the spices, sugar, salt & pepper, and the tortilla strips. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. (Note: I used two ridiculously huge chicken breasts that were frozen solid when I added them to the slow cooker along with the other ingredients… they were perfectly shred-able after cooking on low for about 5 hours).

2. Use two forks to shred the chicken, right in the pot or on a dish, return to pot along with the black beans. Cook an additional hour on low.

3. Serve garnished with yogurt. Other garnishes would be great such as grated cheese, diced avocado, crushed up corn tortilla chips, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. The original recipe calls for baking additional sliced up corn tortillas in the oven. I was still too lazy to do this. The crunch would be really good. See the original recipe here:

Original Version link: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2011/03/slow-cooker-creamy-chicken-tortilla.html

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When I made this soup last week, my husband said it looked pretty good despite the fact that it had chicken in it (he's not a big fan of chicken).  But, he informed me, when I added the corn to the slow cooker, I "ruined" the soup (he likes corn by itself or on the cob, but not IN things such as soup). 

This time around, since the soup lacked corn, he was willing to try it and he LIKED it,

 he REALLY LIKED IT! 

How 'bout that!