Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

This is one of my very favorites. It is mostly canned ingredients which can be so convenient. I usually throw the chicken breasts in still frozen and by the afternoon, it is ready to shred. I tried using only one chicken breast one time, and it wasn't enough. Three is a lot, but it tastes really good like that. Two is a happy compromise. I use chicken stock usually but mainly because we rarely have beer in the house. Last time I made this I blended the tomatoes too, and it made it more chili-like, but Jason was happy that there weren't big tomatoes in the soup. Two more things- this soup tastes even better on Day 2 and if there are any leftovers, it freezes beautifully.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans, undrained
1 or 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, 1 drained, 1 not
1 cup frozen corn or 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 15 oz. can of chicken stock (original recipe called for a bottle of beer, or water if you are really in a pinch)
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (Rotel)
1 (10 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, undrained (no chilies in this can)
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning*
2-3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese
sour cream
optional - crushed tortilla chips, fresh cilantro
nice crusty bread to serve aside

Directions
Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, crushed tortilla chips and fresh cilantro, if desired.

Original Recipe Yield 8 Servings

*Here is a recipe for homemade taco seasoning for this soup. I think this adds to it and I do it this way if I have the time, otherwise I just sprinkle on regular taco seasoning.

1 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp coarse black pepper