Crock Pot Shredded Chicken/Chicken Enchiladas/Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love Mexican food... anything that tastes remotely Mexican.. from roach coaches in front of Home Depot, hole-in-the-wall places that probably violate 10+ health codes, Taco Bell, etc... Luckily, I live in California, so I can pretty much walk 10 feet in any direction and find a place that sells it.. Unfortunately, Mr. Picky Pants husband and the offspring don't appreciate a good chimichanga and their stomachs can't handle the bowels-of-hell spice that most of these places provide. So, when I have a hankerin' for some tasty Mexican food, sometimes I look no further than my own home.

We eat plain ol' tacos at least once a week, but one recipe that the hubs asks for once in a while is my chicken enchiladas. It's actually a three to four meal deal, first I make shredded chicken, then I can either make chicken enchiladas out of it, Mexican chicken sandwiches, or chicken tortilla soup - If I'm lucky and make enough, I can make all four! I've passed this recipe out quite a bit and have gotten pretty good reviews, so I'm going to share it with you here:

Shredded Crock Pot Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts (or equivalent dark meat)
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (can be seasoned or not - do not drain)
1 can diced tomatoes (you can use plain or the kind with chilies)
1 small can diced green chilies or jalapenos
1-2 cans chicken broth (enough to COMPLETELY cover chicken)
1 small diced onion
1-2tbsp minced garlic (or 3-4 freshly chopped cloves)
fresh cilantro (amount is up to you!)
lime juice (amount is up to you!)
1tbsp ground cumin (to taste)
1tbsp chili powder (to taste)
optional: dash of hot sauce of your choice (to taste - i use tapatio..)

*Note - you may want to put the chicken in last so you can taste the broth before-hand.. a lot of my cooking is a dash of this or that and i change it up every time i make it - make sure you like the flavor before you add the chicken the first time... probably not a good idea to taste it with raw chicken hanging out in there!

1.Combine all ingredients in Crock Pot
*I was out of black beans today, so I just used a can of pinto beans - an acceptable substitute! Also, all I had were monster-sized frozen chicken breasts and I only used three... Here is what it looks like with everyone in the pool:

2.Set on "high" and leave for at least 6 hours

3. Once chicken is fall-off-the-fork tender, pull it out and shred it with two forks and place it back in the broth (unless you're making enchiladas..)

Chicken Enchiladas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
about 1c milk
sour cream
1-2 cans diced green chilies or chopped jalapenos
hot sauce of your choice
monterey jack cheese and/or cheddar
sharp cheddar cheese
flour tortillas (or corn... I don't like corn for this recipe, though, because it tastes weird with the white sauce..lol)

1. In a sauce pan heat the cream of chicken soup with milk to thin it.

2. Add green chilies/jalapenos and a dash of hot sauce (add to your desired taste - if you like it spicy, go crazy! If not, leave it out!)

3. Once chilies have been incorporated and simmered a while, add in a few good sized dollops of sour cream (I never measure..lol.. just enough to thin it and make it a bit whiter..)

4. Ladle enough sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan to cover it.

5. Using the Crock Pot Shredded Chicken or your desired recipe, spoon chicken into a flour tortilla and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Fold ends in and roll burrito style then place in the 9x13 pan. Repeat until the pan is full (usually 8-10 enchiladas depending on how you stuff them!)

6. Ladle sauce over the enchiladas and cover with  cheese. This is what it should look like with a "normal" amount of cheese:

This is what it looks like with the amount of cheese my family likes (close to 2 bags total - inside the enchiladas and on top):

7. Bake at 350* until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted and slightly brown (mine don't really brown anymore, due to the amount of cheese.. if I let them brown, they end up really dry and nasty!):

Chicken Tortilla Soup

There really isn't a recipe for this.. lol.. Just use the Crock Pot Shredded Chicken recipe, leave it as is and serve in a bowl! Garnish with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips, corn tortillas, or tortilla chip strips (found near the croutons at your local grocery store)