Tortilla Chicken Soup for the slow-cooker

Without a doubt, Chef Dean Fearing's Tortilla soup is the best. I loved it since the first time I tried it at the Mansion on Turtle Creek back in the 1980's.  I believe that it is in the simplicity and elegance of the ingredients.  But I followed his recipe only rarely because it is time consuming to start with a raw chicken and build a stock, then make that into a finished soup.

I have come up with my slow-cooker version of his soup which relies on some prepared ingredients.  If you have the time, make your own stock, the sodium content of the prepared ingredients is higher than it should be.

However, you can mitigate the sodium by using these ingredients and adding in some no salt added chicken broth.

Here is my recipe:

I 32 oz carton Swansons Mexican tortilla broth

1 26 oz carton Swansons Chicken Cooking Stock

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 large yellow onion, puréed 

Rinse the chicken and lay flat in your slow cooker. Cover with the remaining ingredients.

Set the timer for 6 hours.

Go about life

About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, remove the chicken and shred it when cool.

Transfer the broth to a stock pot for finishing. This is much easier if you use the slow cooker bags.

Add

1/2 to1 Tablespoon cumin

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

2 bay leaves

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Many people like corn or black beans or both in their soup.  Some add potatoes or carrots. If you do, then they should be added now.

Add salt ( probably not necessary) and cayenne pepper to taste. Start with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust up!

Simmer for 30 minutes, then return the shredded chicken to the pot. Heat the chicken.

Garnish each bowl individually with avocado slices and shredded cheddar cheese. You can also add tortilla strips or pulverized corn tortillas. Either way, it is a flavor thing so pick the texture you prefer.  I like pulverized tortillas.  Garnish as desired.

The Grillmaster likes lots of hot so I added a Poblano pepper, charred and chopped to the condiments.

Enjoy!