Chicken Taco Soup

The Picky Apple doesn’t really care for soup.  Me?  When I was younger, I used to take soup to school for lunch almost every single day.  In my quest to find a soup that The Picky Apple will eat, we focused on “taco” soups, similar to one he gets in the cafeteria at work.  We’ve been through at least five different taco soup recipes in search of one that he likes, and this recipe was one of the more successful recipes of the bunch.  This recipe makes lots of soup and freezes well.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (12 ounce) beer  (I used Shiner Bock)
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 3 whole boneless chicken breasts

Directions:  Place the chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker.  Add taco seasoning and stir to blend.  Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients.  Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.  Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled.  Shred chicken.  Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours.  Serve topped with cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and tortilla chips, if desired.