Chicken Tortilla Soup

Well, here is another quick and easy recipe for soup that will give you a taste from south of the border and the hardest thing is chopping the onion! Don't let the long list of ingredients fool you, just dump everything in the slow cooker and walk away! Garnish with cheddar, sour cream, hot sauce to desired heat and some sliced avocados in an empty bowl then pour on the soup.

Ingredients

• 1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (preferably green)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin (you can substitute this and the next 3 ingredients for a packet of taco seasoning)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 to 2 bay leaf
• 1 (10 ounce) can of corn
• 1 (10 ounce) can of black beans
• Enough chopped cilantro to fill .75 to 1 cup
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 7 corn tortillas (or just a store bought bag of corn tortilla chips)
• vegetable oil

Directions

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn, black beans and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. To make your own chips. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. 
4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.