Apparently its National Soup Month, which seems appropriate for colder weather and weight loss goals. I love a good soup and usually when you make it in the crockpot, there's plenty of leftovers! On Thursday, I tried out this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Chili. I love chili and chicken so I definitely had high hopes for this recipe. My chicken wasn't fully defrosted, so I just cooked everything at high heat for a little bit longer than recommended and it was fine. I started by putting my chicken in the crockpot. Next, I added the corn, Rotel tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans, and chopped onions. I cut up a red pepper, a green pepper, and a jalapeño. I added those to the crockpot. In another bowl, I mixed together chicken broth, salsa (I used a little less because I couldn't open the new jar), lime juice, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. I added this mixture to my crockpot and gave it a quick stir. I barely fit everything in my standard crockpot and probably could have used a larger crockpot, but I was too lazy to search for the big crockpot. I put it on high and set my timer for 6 hours.

About 5.5 hours later, I pulled the chicken breasts out of the crockpot and shredded them with my fabulous bear claws. (These are one of my favorite kitchen gadgets ever!) I put the shredded chicken and can of refried black beans back into the crockpot and let it cook for another 25-30 minutes on low. We topped our chili with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips, all standards in our house. The results were great! I loved all the vegetables that were in the chili and I always look for a new way to cook chicken. The refried beans sounded like a crazy additon, but they were excellent for thickening things up a bit. It wasn't quite as spicy as my regular chili, but I had followed the directions and measured the spices. Next time, I would probably just eyeball it and maybe use a spicier chili powder. Overall, this was a great recipe and definitely made plenty of leftovers. We will probably have plenty for lunch for a few days and I may try to freeze some, too.

The New Austonian