Chicken Tortilla Soup!!

Everytime my girlfriends and I would make a trip to the mall, there was no question we were stopping at California Pizza Kitchen. Their pizza was meh, just okay, but their chicken tortilla soup was ridiculous! The only complaint was that it always repeated on us (gross). That soup tradition stopped because of the nasty reaction we’d have. Well, about a month ago, we all went out for dinner to a favorite restaurant (the same that makes my favorite margaritas!) I checked out the specials, and the appetizer was chicken tortilla soup! Since then, I’ve been on a mission to make my own. This is what I came up with (it’s my husband’s favorite):

Mindy’s Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
• 1.5 lbs chicken
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole flavored stewed tomatoes
• 1 (10 ounce) can salsa
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 ounces jarred jalapeno & some juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 pkg low sodium taco seasoning or chili seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1/2c flour
• 1 can chick peas
• Chopped avocado
• 4T butter
• Tortilla chips to serve with

Directions

Put whole chicken breasts into the (surprise) crockpot.
Pour all other ingredients in (except the tortilla chips).
Stir it up!
Cook on low for at least 8 hours.
An hour before serving, remove chicken breasts, shred with 2 forks, dump it back in, stir, and continue cooking for the last hour. Serve with the chips.

If you like your soup more watery, omit the flour. I like mine more thick. If you don’t like spicy food, just buy mild chili mix and mild salsa. The best part (besides being healthy, and tasting great) this soup never repeated on me -ew!