Hello, winter and SOUP season. I am all about warm dinners, the crock pot meal cooking all day, the house smelling good…yah with me? Using our crock pot / slow cooker weekly is what makes our meal plan easy to follow. We pick one (sometimes two) slow cooker meals per week for nights when we know we’re shorter on time. This way, we can still enjoy a family meal and get Linc’s belly full before some playtime, bottle, and his bedtime routine.
Knock on wood…we have a pretty good sleeper now. I cannot believe I just typed that! The beginning was ROUGH and now after a lot of hard work, training, habit forming and did I mention hard work? He’s a good sleeper. His routine is as follows: get home from grandma/grandpa’s house, play, dinner, play, bottle, read/cuddle, sleep sack, noise machine on, rock and sing, and we lay him down wide awake. It’s rare if we have a night now that we have to go in and help him sleep and I am SO thankful for that.
Why am I so thankful? Well for one, it gives him the rest he needs and I used to be so worried he wasn’t getting enough. Two, it gives Steve and I almost a full evening, okay two-ish hours, to play games, write, read, watch a show, or simply go to bed. Having this time back has ultimately helped me enjoy being a mother that much more.
Lastly, it gives me time to share things with you all! Like this Chicken Taco Soup recipe you’re probably more interested in than hearing me talk about our sleeping baby. If you’re a parent struggling with sleep (or lack thereof) please know I see you and feel you. I have felt despair (I am not exaggerating) when it came to Linc’s lack of sleep and inability to nap. You get through it, but it can be so hard.
So whether you’re tired or awake, throw these ingredients below in your crockpot and you’ll have dinner ready to comfort you in no time.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, ~1.5 lbs total If you prefer them diced, dice before adding them to the crock pot
- 1 can black beans drained, rinsed and low sodium if you can find them
- 1 can pinto beans drained, rinsed and low sodium if you can find them
- 1 can corn drained, rinsed and low sodium if you can find them
- 1 can diced tomatoes petite, fire roasted, regular, or no salt added are fine
- 1 cup salsa heat to your liking
- 2 cups broth chicken, garlic, vegetable or bone
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Toppings:
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Fresh squeezed lime juice
- Crushed tortilla or bean chips
- Guacamole or avocado slices
Optional
- 2 cups rice cook on the side
Instructions
- If you prefer diced chicken, dice before putting it into the crock pot
- Place all ingredients in the crock pot.
- Stir to mix and turn on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6.
- If chicken was not diced. Remove, shred, replace and mix together.
- Enjoy!
Notes
It also freezes well and is delicious with a glob of whole fat Greek yogurt or guacamole on time. Or, you know, a margarita on the side. 😉
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