Snow Day Soup

It's snowing, y'all!

It's been a pretty mild winter up here so far.  We've gotten a couple of little baby snows.  This one is not much different.  I think we'll get about 3-4 inches when all is said and done.  As a Virginian, I have to remind myself that that is nothing to people up here.

In honor of this sweet little Saturday snow day, I'm making some soup in the crock pot and I thought I'd share.  I'm happy to say that this is my very own recipe.  Although it is adapted from both my mom's white chicken chili and chicken tortilla soup, found here.

Dice up an onion and some garlic.

Make sure you use the best Ro-Tel ever.  Diced tomatoes with lime juice & cilantro.

Throw everything into your crock pot (onions, garlic, beans, corn, ro-tel, chicken stock, water).

Add some spices...a tablespoon of each.

 

Season your chicken and place it on top of the mixture in your crock pot, submerging it into the liquid.

Cook on low for about 9-10 hours (or high for 6-7 hours).  Add chopped cilantro.

Shred your chicken and stir to combine everything.

Serve with some cheddar bay biscuits.  I made these for the first time tonight and they were amazing!

Serve in a bowl with cheese, cilantro, green onions, tortilla chips, and biscuits.  Yum!

Crock Pot Snow Day Soup (or White Chicken Chili)
 Ingredients:
1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can Ro-Tel
2 cans great northern beans*
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can corn (drained)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 onion (chopped)
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water (you can add more later if your soup needs more liquid)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)

Toppings (optional):
Sour cream
Mexican cheese
Tortilla chips
Green onion (chopped)

Directions:

1. Dice up onion and garlic and throw them into your crock pot.
 2. Add great northern beans (add the whole can, juice and all), black beans, corn, Ro-Tel (add whole can), chicken stock, water, and spices to your crock pot.  Mix together with a spoon.
3. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken and place on top of the mixture in the crock pot.  Press the chicken down gently to submerge it into the mixture.
4.  Cover and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 8-9 hours.
5.  Before serving, shred chicken with two forks (it should literally fall apart).  Stir in cilantro.
6.  To serve, place soup in a bowl and serve with desired toppings.  Enjoy!

This soup is also awesome with cheese biscuits.  I usually make them from a recipe that I have from working in Mrs. Hardesty's Tea Room, but decided to try something different tonight.  The cheddar bay biscuits (thanks Pinterest!) were amazing.  They are surprisingly easy to make from scratch.

*A note on great northern beans:  These are easily found in any grocery store in the South....but I've had the hardest time finding them in grocery stores up here.  Some similar beans are navy beans and cannellini beans (white kidney beans).  If you're a New Englander reading this, I have found great northern beans one time in the Spanish section at Market Basket (Goya brand).  I was so excited I think I bought 10 cans.