Chicken Fiesta Soup

I'm always on the lookout for recipes that resemble chicken tortilla soup.  I've had this soup at probably 50+ restaurants, and my hands down favorite is McAlisters.  The only copycat recipe for that soup I can find did not turn out at all like the restaurant version!  So, I'm resigned to simply making any chicken tortilla-ish soup that crosses my path...and eating McAlisters version as much as I can drag Bart to go with me!  This recipe came from a crockpot cookbook I borrowed from a co-worker.  It definitely fits the bill for eating more veggies, and I thought it was good!  The green chiles make it a bit spicy, so I'd decrease those if you don't like spice.

just some of the ingredients...got ahead of myself chopping before I took the pic

Ingredients:
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 14oz can stewed tomatoes, drained - I used crushed, and poured the whole can in
1 28oz can enchilada sauce
1 14oz can chicken broth
2 4oz cans green chiles
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup chopped onion
chicken* - I used 1 large chicken breast, but the recipe called for 4! I'd recommend 1-2.
salt
pepper
chili powder - I substituted cayenne
cumin

-Chop all vegetables.  I used my mini chopper and this was a huge timesaver compared to last week's Sausage & Tortellini soup! 
-Add everything to crock pot except chicken. (Spray crockpot with cooking spray or use a liner for easy clean up!) I went in this order - veggies, canned items, spices.  I don't think it matters much, but don't put the spices in first or they might get stuck on the bottom and not mix through well.  Stir well.
-I added an uncooked, partially still frozen chicken breast and then cooked on low 8 hours.  When I got home, I took out the chicken and shredded it with two forks.  Then, I returned the chicken to the crockpot and allow to heat through (I also added a little water at this point because it was looking fairly stew-like).  The recipe calls for adding cooked chicken to the soup mixture, which you can definitely do.  I don't know all the rules for uncooked chicken, but I think the temperature and length of time you are cooking kills any bacteria in the soup that comes from putting the raw chicken in it.  But, if you are concerned, you can always cook the chicken in the crockpot overnight, shred it in the morning and throw it in with the soup ingredients.

Now that its even cold in Texas, soup is the perfect thing to have for dinner!  Filling, healthy, and warms you up.  Try this one and let me know if you like it!