Week 3 (Cooking) - Chicken Tomatillo Soup

The cooking challenge for week 3 was soup. S(o)uper easy that is.

I love soup, but for years I was afraid of making it myself. My mom is a soup goddess and I am always assumed that my soups would just fail completely when compared to the deliciousness this deity creates.

I may have a cooking complex.  

In the last year or two I've started venturing outside of my no-soup zone and dipping my pinky toe into the icy cold waters of soup-dom. (Why is soup icy? I don't know, ssshhhh...) So far so good, and my slow cooker has been my best friend on these adventures. I love that I can toss stuff in, crank that baby down low, cover it up, skirt out the door, and come home to warm, tasty food. Plus these are some of the most balanced meals I can create in a pinch; protein, veggies, carbs...Soup has it all baby! Soup is, in every way, perfect. Especially for winter.

I have about 5 jillion recipes booked marked here and there, and probably at least a third (1.67 jillion that is) of the recipes are for soup. This week's recipe was an adaptation from one I found on  Better Homes & Gardens website that I just haven't had the gumption to make yet. Excuses no more, soup week is here.

Slow cooker recipes couldn't be simpler and I feel a bit silly detailing this, but detail I must.

Spicy Chicken Tomatillo Soup

• 7 medium tomatillos, husks removed & rinsed
  
  
  
  

  I had no idea how sticky and weird these things felt. shudder
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 32 oz low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 4 oz canned diced green chilis
• 1 large fresh jalapeno, chopped - I leave the seeds, some people prefer to tone the spice down and remove them, your call.
  
  
  
  
  
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• Juice from 1 lime
  
  
  
  
  
• 2 heaping tsp chili powder - Again adjust to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

1. Dice 3 of the tomatillos.
2. Put the other 4 in a food processor and blender to create a smooth paste.
   
   
    
3. Combine all of the ingredients in a 3 1/2 - 4 qt slow cooker.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Cover.
5. Set on low heat for 6-7 hours or on high for 3 1/2-4 hours.
6. Remove the chicken from the broth.
7. Allow to cool slightly.
8. Shred it!
   
   
   
   
   
9. Slide the chicken back into the stock.
10. Mix to combine the chicken with the broth.
11. Serve yourself a nice big bowl with some tortilla chips & salsa. Mmm.