Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup

What do you like on your tacos?  When I make them, it's imperative that I have lettuce, tomato, black olives, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and salsa.  I totally get the stink eye when I forget the black olives, so I stock up when they're on sale.

With this in mind, I knew it was important to include black olives when I made this recipe from Running Mama Cooks.  It wasn't until I opened the can that I realized they also had jalapenos in them.  This is a concern when you have a son who "hates spicy food."

As I was browning the chicken, my husband, who is home sick today, remarked that it smelled awesome in there and wanted to know what was cookin.  I told him, and he got very excited about it.  I expressed my concern that it wouldn't be filling enough for dinner, and threw out adding rice to the dish.  His suggestion was that we use pita bread rather than tortilla chips to dip and also fill our bellies a little more.

Ironically, my three year old didn't complain it was spicy, though the rest of us did.  I added heavy cream to it for all of us, which was a great addition, but it was still way too spicy for us.  I think it was the added jalapenos that did it.  The base flavor was definitely tasty aside from the spice, so I'll be trying this one again and...um...omitting a little of the heat!

Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup

Slightly Adapted from Running Mama Cooks

4 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders, cut into chunks  (I used chicken breast)
Olive oil cooking spray
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped (I used a red pepper)
1 tbs minced garlic  (I used a heaping spoonful of chopped garlic)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth (I used two cans of chicken broth)
1 packet low sodium taco seasoning (I used 1/2c of this seasoning recipe)
4.5 oz green chili's, drained
1.5 cups frozen corn

2.25 oz sliced black olives with jalapenos

Directions:

Heat pan to medium heat, spray generously with cooking spray. Add chicken and brown on all sides. Add onion, pepper and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Add chicken and vegetables. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and/or a little bit of Mexican cheese on top.