Well, I watched a friend make it once, and enjoyed it for the first time at her house. Then I came home and created my own version of it, which is just in my head. So I had to translate that onto paper before I could give her the recipe. I always finish this soup by taste-testing. I might taste it and decide it needs more garlic or pepper, and add more. Then I let it simmer awhile longer. It's not a precise process in my home, but I tried to provide a fairly accurate recipe below.
Even though this has green chilis in it, most of its flavor and heat actually comes from fresh garlic. I use a lot of fresh garlic in it, which is how my friend made it. This fills a 5 qt. soup pan or 5 qt. crock pot. I'd say it serves 8.
Ingredients:
- 1 - 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 cans (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
- 1 can (10.5 oz.) cream of chicken soup
- 1-2 small cans (4 oz.) of diced green chilis
- 1/2 onion, diced
- garlic **
- 3-4 cans of great northern beans
- 1 can of corn, drained (optional)
- 1/8 tsp. paprika
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- water
**(I use 4-8 fresh cloves of garlic, depending on their size. I use a Pampered Chef garlic press to mince it, but peeling its paper and chopping it with a knife also works. The minced garlic in a jar would probably work. I think you'd want about 1 Tbsp. of minced garlic in a jar, to start with. I don't know how well garlic powder would work.)
Instructions:
- Simmer the chicken breasts in the 2 cans of chicken broth until they are fully cooked. (You could add the onion, garlic and green chilis now, or later. I've done it both ways.)
- Shred the chicken into bite size pieces.
- Add the cream of chicken soup.
- Add green chilis, onion, and garlic, if you haven't already.
- Add the cans of great northern beans without draining.
- If desired, you can add one can of corn, without the liquid. It's good without corn, too.
- Stir and finish filling pot with water.
- Season with paprika, black pepper and cumin. (I really just sprinkle these in and don't measure. But I tried to provide a guesstimate measurement above for you.)
- Simmer until the soup is hot, onion is tender, and the flavors are well-blended.
- Serve with shredded cheese, chopped onion, and crackers.
To prepare it in the crock pot, you'd need to cook the chicken in the broth with the onion, garlic and green chilis first. Shred the chicken. For Sunday's meal, I cooked the chicken overnight on low and shredded it in the morning, before adding the other ingredients. The soup continued to cook on low while we were at church. When I am home, I put in the chicken, shred it after a couple hours on high, then add the other ingredients and reduce the heat to low. I let it simmer on low for at least 4 hours before serving.
Enjoy!
Trusting In Him,
April
