For two weeks I’ve been wanting homemade soup. I was all ready last weekend and the lazy bug kicked in so it didn’t happen. But the almost blizzard conditions (remember I’m from TX) that blew in to Northwest Arkansas on Friday left me freezing to my bones and fully committed to my Saturday adventure of multi-tasking – cleaning and cooking simultaneously.

I’ll admit, it was just about throwing a bunch of junk together and crossing my fingers that it worked. I’d love to be cool like Mix n Match Mama, Dining with Debbie, or Heather’s Dish and actually make up a recipe that you could duplicate. But, my style is more to tell you what I did and why I did it and let you figure out if its something you want to repeat. You see I’m all about knowing tastes and learning what makes a great food marriage (at least a good party in your mouth) and then making that magic happen over and over.

At my house growing up, we ate lots of soup. Dad liked to eat it, mama liked to make it, and we didn’t know any different. So, along the way my mom (who is one heck of a cook!) taught us a lot about food flavors and when in doubt just experiment to see if it would work. I can only remember 3 or 4 “we should probably not make this again” moments.

A couple months ago, I made Green Chile Chicken Chili and I’ve been begging my mom to use this as a left over turkey recipe after Thanksgiving. I guess I’ll find out Friday if my pleading worked (it doesn’t usually because she has her own agenda…but its worth the try!) Apparently my dad doesn’t like white beans and since its just the two of them at home now, he gets his way! WHATEVER!!!

But, as I was gathering the ingredients to make up that recipe, I noticed that Swanson had some new flavored chicken broths. I was super curious and had been wanting to try one of them. So, last weekend as I gathered ingredients for this soup of mine, I decided to make this and try the new broth. Which, turned out to be a great idea since I forgot to get any seasoning packet.

So, what did I get and why?

Mexican Chicken Stew is a smokey, spicy comfort soup that will make your insides warm and cozy. Let the crockpot do all the work for you or cook it stovetop in a dutch oven. #chickenstew #gamedaymeals #comfortfood #spicysoup #mexicanstew

Print Recipe

Mexican Chicken and Roasted Tomato Soup

Mexican Chicken and Roasted Tomato Soup is a spicy chicken stew that is perfect for a cold night because it uses things you already have in your pantry and cooks all afternoon in your crockpot.

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: crockpot, mexican stew, roasted tomatoes, soup, stew

Ingredients

1 can Great Northern Beans
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 can chopped green chilies
1 Cup Verde Salsa
1 box Swanson Mexican Tortilla chicken broth
1 tray Tyson Trimmed and Ready chicken strips
seasoning for chicken
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 bell pepper chopped
1-2 Cups frozen edamame shelled
1 Cup fresh spinach
1 Tablespoon garlic minced
3 Teaspoons lime juice
3 big dashes seasoned salt

Instructions

Dice chicken into 1/2 inch cubes.
Season chicken and cook in skillet until browned and cooked through.
Remove chicken and place in the bottom of a crockpot.
In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat to medium.
Chop/dice bell pepper into 1/4-inch cubes.
Cook bell pepper in oil until edges start to brown.
Transfer bell pepper and pan bit to the crockpot.
Drain and rinse canned beans and add to crockpot.
Add all remaining ingredients to crockpot, except spinach.
Let the soup cook in the crockpot for at least 4 hours (this could also simmer in a dutch oven for 1 hour, instead.)
Chop spinach and add to soup 20-30 minutes before you eat it.
Serve hot and garnish with cheese, chips, avocados or more salsa.

I went with the combination of great northern beans and cannelloni beans. To me, the cannelloni beans (basically white kidney beans) tend to be too tough so the great northern beans which are much softer (think white pork ‘n beans) are a good balance to get the same proteins. Also, to cut back on the spice, I went with fire-roasted tomatoes instead of Rotel and because I like the tang of green chilies, I added a can of that.

When I moved up here, I discovered the World Table Walmart brand (even made the Cooking Light’s favorite store brands list) at a potluck I attended and have been loving their salsa ever since (I’m also a My Brothers Salsa fan!). The Verde salsa is roasted and has a yummy smoky flavor that brings the perfect punch.

I learned my lesson on the frozen chicken last time and went back to the Tyson brand (have you noticed moving to NWA has made me a local brand snob….eeeek!) this time cooking my own. No picture, but I cooked it in the iron skillet with taco seasoning, garlic, and some Lawry’s Jambalaya seasoning. I know all the flavors will come off once they hit the soup liquid, but I wanted what I could, cooked into the meat. I had some extra chopped red bell pepper from my salad last weekend so I chopped it a little more finely and threw in 1 cup of that.

To round things off, I like to play mind games with myself and sneak in veggies and superfoods any time I can. Soup is always the perfect place to do that. I don’t have kids, but I’m fully expecting to be “that mom”. We are eating veggies….yes you can pull this up later!

So, I threw in some frozen edamame and added spinach just 20 minutes or so before I ate it. Spinach gets a little slimy like strings when it cooks down so I chopped it up to make it smaller and still get the same nutritional punch. I know green is the thing that throws everyone off, but I’m good with all the color!

First flavor impression? – kinda smoky, little spicy I’m guessing from the roasted tomatoes, but it needed salt and something else….hmmmm

Additions – 1 Tablespoon minced garlic, several shakes of ground salt, and 3 teaspoons lime juice.

I’m loving it. The lime juice cut some of the smoke and heat. Garlic and salt were just needed flavors and the crunch of the edamame is perfection!I think I’m gonna be happy with this one. Of course, homemade tortilla strips, cilantro, and grated cheese would be the icing on top!

Variation – I do think you could go with stewed tomatoes to get the punch of flavor and less spice. Chopped carrots and zucchini would be a good addition. Heck, even a slew of roasted veggies would be great. Many people, my mom included, would probably add a can of corn. I’m kinda on a no corn thing right now…I think its a waste since your body doesn’t process it, but for the “usual types, corn and black beans would round it all out. Even better serve it with my friend Ree’s corn and avocado salsa! You didn’t know we’re friends? We hung out last Saturday!

Let me know if you try it and what you think? Anything you would add?