Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup

Okay, okay...  So I am grateful for food.  A lot.  It's just who I am.

Plus, when my days have flown by and I don't feel like I have the time to dedicate to the grateful I've really wanted to do for a couple of days, I pick something I can expound on quickly.  And, quite often, that's food. 

Honestly, I am grateful for food.  I'm grateful we don't have to exist on gruel.  That there is variety.  But that's probably a whole different 'grateful' post, in my opinion. 

So here's why I love (and am grateful for) this chicken taco soup. 

1.  I can eat it every day for a week and not be completely sick of it.  While this is no longer of major concern for me, it was once a huge deal.  When I was in Tuscaloosa going to graduate school, I had a goal to not take on any additional debt.  Therefore, I spent only what I could afford from my working paycheck.  Which had to cover tuition, rent, groceries, gas, electricity... You get the idea.  I will say this:  miracles abounded in my life during that time.  I saw them.  And I know they were the promised blessings being fulfilled because I chose to pay tithing.  But I digress.  Anyway, I didn't have money to waste.  If I made a meal, I had to eat it.  I couldn't go around throwing away food.  Ergo, I was choosey in what I chose to cook.  I was also living alone.  Which meant either eating a sandwich every night (ummm... no thanks) or finding a recipe I could tolerate for several days.  (I have since learned the art of freezing, but at that time, I was naïve).  And let's just say I hit pay-dirt with this recipe.  And it remains one of my favorites.  Of course, these days, most food around here doesn't last for a week (sometimes only a couple days) since I have a husband with a  hearty appetite.  And I'm pretty okay with that :).

2.  It's so stinkin' easy.  Crock pot, check.  A bunch of canned ingredients, check.  Of course, this means it is higher in sodium (a fact I was blissfully ignoring until I married the Mister... who is much more health-conscious than yours truly).  But, now that I have time on my hands (haha... maybe I should say 'now that I'm a stay-at-home-wife-and-mom' -- because I don't think I actually have more time on my hands), I have found ways to reduce the sodium without using reduced-sodium things (which is an option if you choose to buy those).  For example, I've gone to making dried beans.  I don't add salt when I make them and freeze them, so I end up reducing sodium there.  I recently made my first home-made broth (from the Thanksgiving turkey), and though I didn't use it this time (due to the fact that we froze it in 4-cup portions...), I can in the future -- and that would cut out sodium.  This time I also threw in frozen corn instead of canned, so less sodium there.  And I don't use the whole packet of taco seasoning -- I just bought a big container at Costco and use what I deem good enough.  Over the summer, when I had my crop of fresh tomatoes, I'd chopped them up and froze them so I used them in place of the rotel and added a small can of diced green chilies. 

3.  Aside from the sodium (which I'm trying to remedy), it's a relatively healthy meal.  I always choose to use chicken breasts (it's just the way I am... I'm a white meat girl), so that keeps the fat content lower.

4.  Frankly, I'm thankful it was done and I could focus on other things today.  Like baking and shopping and caring for a little munchkin who likes lots of attention :).

So the recipe is here if you'd like it.  I always substitute broth for the beer.

What are you grateful for today?