Recipe: Delicious Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Soup

Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Soup.

You can have Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Soup using 18 ingredients and 4 steps. Here is how you cook that.

Ingredients of Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Soup

1. It's 3 pounds of bone-in chicken pieces (I like dark meat - more flavor. :) ).
2. Prepare 6 cups of water.
3. It's 1 of small onion, cut into 1-inch pieces.
4. Prepare 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed.
5. It's 2 of medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces (I like to cut them big for slow cooking so they don't disintegrate and still retain some texture).
6. Prepare 1 of medium bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces (I happened to use the Hatch chilies I roasted the other day, but they're seasonal and sometimes hard to come by even when they're in season).
7. It's 1 of large stem celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
8. You need 1 (15 oz.) of can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional - I don't always care for beans in this soup - but add a 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to the recipe if you add the beans).
9. It's 1/2 of a 15 oz. can of corn (or 1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels).
10. You need 1/2 of a 15 oz. can of tomatoes.
11. Prepare 1/2-1 teaspoon of cumin.
12. It's 1-2 teaspoons of dried oregano.
13. It's 2 of bay leaves.
14. You need 3-3.5 teaspoons of kosher salt to start.
15. You need 1-1.5 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice.
16. Prepare 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro (optional for the cilantro haters, of course).
17. Prepare 1 teaspoon of fish sauce (optional, but recommended).
18. Prepare of optional garnish: fried tortilla chips or strips, chopped fresh chilies, onions, cilantro, avocado, and lime wedges.

Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Soup instructions

1. Dump all but garnish ingredients into your slow cooker and give it a few good stirs..
2. Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, or high for 5 to 7, depending on how hot your slow cooker gets..
3. It's always nice if you can give the soup a few gentle stirs throughout the cooking process, but if you can't manage that because you're out of the house, then you can give it a stir and adjust the seasoning as necessary as soon as you get home. This will give the soup some time to more evenly and thoroughly absorb flavor before you sit down to enjoy it..
4. I like it with a little steamed rice, some chopped onions and cilantro on top, a good extra squeeze of lime, and a few lashings of Tapatío. :) Enjoy!.