Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup with Penzeys Arizona Dreaming

This is Marie, contributing an article about a recipe that Grant was very enthusiastic about. I was a little dubious about this particular recipe at first, to be honest, despite its origin in the Penzeys catalog (we love Penzeys). For one thing, please note how many different variations on tomatoes are in it. I think there must be about at least a pound, in just about every format available except dried. And those could be added! For another, it’s a slow cooker recipe and I was thinking this was supposed to be spring. In Georgia, spring generally means two nice days followed by the immediate and vigorous onset of summer. However, this year’s weather being as odd as it is, it was plenty cool enough to take a slow cooker recipe and go with it.

The recipe was placed in the catalog to showcase a seasoning blend for Penzeys called Arizona Dreaming. It can be used on conjunction with chili powder, or replace it entirely. It’s a smoky-sweet and lightly spicy mix.

2-4 boneless / skinless chicken breast pieces (thawed or frozen)
2 TB. Penzeys Arizona Dreaming
2 15-oz. cans black beans
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes (or Ro-Tel tomatoes if you want the extra spice)
1 cup salsa (your favorite)
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 small can (6-8 oz.) enchilada sauce
cheese / sour cream / tortilla chips

Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with Penzeys Arizona Dreaming. Add the beans, tomatoes, salsa, tomato sauce, and enchilada sauce, and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. Just before serving check and shred the chicken if it hasn’t done so on its own. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and chips. Recipe contributor Becky Gilligan limes lime-flavored chips for extra zest.

Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 4-8 hours
Serves: 6-8

Nutritional information: Servings: 7; Serving size 1 cup (242g); Calories 140; Calories from fat 15; Total fat 1.5g; Cholesterol 25mg; Sodium 430mg; Carbohydrate 17g; Dietary fiber 5g; Sugars 4g; Protein 15g

Recipe courtesy Penzeys Spices, Milwaukee WI. www.penzeys.com

Please note that the sour cream really does add to the texture and flavor. Don’t think you can skip that and save yourself some calories; it really makes the stew something special. It isn’t in our sample picture, because I had to talk Grant into trying some; after the first tentative bite he then slathered more on with abandon. Everyone except the toddler liked this recipe. I had my hopes, since he does enjoy black beans, but nope. He wound up eating PB&J. One other thing I did, since I’m not partial to chips myself, was to make some brown rice and put that in the bowl as well; it added nicely and next time I make this that will be a regular part of the mix. I’d probably also add another veggie, maybe diced sweet pepper (probably yellow or orange to relieve the color scheme) and/or some corn.

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