Cooking: Chicken Enchilada Soup

I wasn't quite sold on any of the chicken enchilada soups I found recipes for, so I made my own recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 package boneless chicken thighs
• 1 package boneless chicken breasts
• 1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 can diced green chiles
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar and pepper jack)
• 2 cups enchilada sauce
• ½ stick butter
• 2-3 tablespoons flour
• chipotle chile powder
• ancho chile powder
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper

Part 1: Chick N Veg

Chicken (I used a mix of thighs and breasts), onion,
can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, can of diced green chiles,
red bell pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, salt & pepper.

Chop the onion and fresh peppers. Put all ingredients into the crock pot for 3-4 hrs on high (or 6-8 hours on low).

Into the crock pot

After cooking for allotted time

Remove the chicken and use 2 forks to shred it

Part 2: Let's get cheesy!

Heavy cream (2 cups), butter (1/2 stick),  flour (2-3 T),
shredded cheddar & pepper jack (4 cups),
enchilada sauce (2 cups, not pictured)

Melt better in a pot over medium heat. Then stir in flour.

Slowly whisk in cream. Keep whisking until all cream has been added and the mixture has thickened.

Add cheese, melting it in as you go. It will be very thick at this point.

Add the the enchilada sauce, vegetables (including liquid) from the crock pot, and the shredded chicken. If the soup is still too thick, add a little bit of chicken stock until it's the desired consistency.

Part 3: Spice it up!

I used 2 different chile powders (ancho & chipotle) to add depth.
I also added garlic and pepper. Add spices to your taste.

I froze this soup to take to Day-After-Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. It froze and thawed very well!

Ready to freeze

Reheated and ready to eat!

Things to do different next time:

• Add a can of black beans. (I actually meant to do this, but forgot!)
• Add another jalapeno and some cayenne pepper (I was making this mild because some of my family members don't do spicy food.)