Vegan Crock Pot Cuban Black Bean Soup

Your house will smell amazing while you cook this & it tastes just as good as it smells!

Vegan Crock Pot Cuban Black Bean Soup

2/3 Cup dry black beans
2 Cups water
1 white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Vegetable broth powder or paste
1/2 Cup corn kernels
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

*place all ingredients in crock & stir to combine
*cook on HIGH 6 hours or LOW 12 hours

Crock-Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

My hubby REALLY liked this soup.  He says he likes it better than the Mexican Chicken Soup I made recently.  I did make a few changes to the recipe, just customizing it to my hubby's tastes a tad more.  I used 1 1/2 bell peppers instead of 3 & 1 onion, instead of 2.  I left out the canned tomatoes & I used 6 cups of broth instead of 4.  I didn't use any cheese as my hubby can't have dairy.  I didn't add any tortilla strips, just didn't have any in the house.  And I didn't have the ingredients on hand to make the avocado garnish.

Crock-Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 Tablespoons oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded & chopped
2 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup gold tequila (optional)
1 (14-15 oz) can chopped tomatoes, drained
4 Cups chicken broth
3 Cups shredded cooked chicken
salt & pepper
fried corn tortilla strips
grated colby or monterey jack cheese, for garnish
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed, leaves chopped, for garnish
avocado garnish (recipe to follow)

*saute peppers & onions until softened, about 2 minutes
*add garlic, chili powder, & cumin & cook for another 2 minutes
*add tequila (if using) & cook until almost evaporated
*transfer above to the crock-pot
*add tomatoes, broth, & chicken
*cover & cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours
*season with salt & pepper
*place tortilla strips in bowl, ladle in the soup, & top with desired garnish

Crock-Pot Mexican Chicken Soup

My family is not really big on soups.  But my hubby does like a good chicken soup.  Right now he is under the weather so I made him this.  It turned out pretty good, but did need quite a bit more salt after it was finished (& I put the teaspoon it called for & I know the broth had salt as well).

Crock-Pot Mexican Chicken Soup

Broth:
2 onions, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 sprigs cilantro (we REALLY like cilantro, so I actually put a whole fistful in)
1 hot chili pepper, seeded & chopped (I didn't have one on hand, so I used a little cayenne pepper powder)
10 whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
2 half chicken breasts
1 (10 oz) can condensed chicken broth
5 cups water

Topping:
1/2 Cup whipping cream
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted & ground
2 small avocados, sliced
lime juice
finely chopped cilantro

*In slow cooker stoneware, combine broth ingredients.  Cover & cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours
*Lift out chicken & shred meat
*Strain the broth & discard solids
*Combine strained broth & shredded chicken back in crock pot & set to warm if not eating immediately

Topping:
*in a bowl, whip cream & beat in cumin seeds & set aside
*when you ladle soup into bowls, lay avocado strips ontop & sprinkle with lime juice
*top with a dollop of cream & garnish with cilantro.

Note 1: I did not do the topping part.  My hubby can't have cream (no dairy) & he dislikes cumin; we didn't have avocado in the house & I honestly forgot about the lime juice & chopped cilantro (I have mentioned that I have a toddler, right??)

Note 2: hubby found the veggies I had strained out of the broth (I had just left them sitting in a bowl) & added them back to the soup & he said it was even better that way, LOL