Happy New Year!!!  One of my resolutions is to start posting more on my site, so here is my first post of 2014.  It has been a wonderful Holiday season filled with family, friends, and of course, lots of food!  I haven't stopped cooking since December 23rd!  As an added bonus, we had 2 extra days off in Massachusetts because of a great big snowstorm, which meant we had 2 total weeks off from school.  It gave me a few days extra in the kitchen experimenting.

I love soup on cold days.  This soup is unbelievably good.  I took from different recipes, tweaked a bit, and came up with this recipe. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients, they all go in the crockpot together and cook, it's so easy!  It is worth the time and effort to make your own enchilada sauce. I have listed the recipe below, but in a pinch, you can use a can.  Make sure you buy good quality tortilla chips.You will not be disappointed, I promise!!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup with Avocado Relish

1. 1 lb. chicken breasts (no need to cut up
2. 1 15 oz. can rotel tomatoes or whole tomatoes mashed
3. 1 medium onion chopped
4. 10 oz. enchilada sauce - either canned or recipe below
5. 1 small can chopped green chile peppers
6. 2 cloves garlic minced
7. 3 3/4 cups chicken broth
8. 1 tsp. cumin
9. 1 tsp. chili powder
10. 1 15 oz. can black beans rinsed and drained
11. 1 tsp. salt
12. 1/4 tsp. black pepper
13. 1 bay leaf
14. 1 10 oz. bag frozen corn
15. 1 16 oz. container sour cream
16. crushed tortilla chips

Combine all ingredients except for sour cream in a crockpot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.   Take out 2 cups of your soup and blend in a blender or use an immersion hand held blender and blend right in your crockpot.  Add your sour cream and and stir well.  Serve with Avocado relish, tortilla chips and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Avocado Relish

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup chopped green onion

1 tsp. grated lime zest

3 oz. crumbled queso fresco (mexican cheese - can be found in most grocery stores)

1 peeled and diced avocado

mix all ingredients well and cover.  

Easy Enchilada Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup chili powder

2 cups chicken stock

10 ounces tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings..