Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

I love finding new slow cooker recipes. It's so convenient being able to toss things into the slow cooker and just set it to do the work for you all day. This recipe is adapted from the recipe for chicken enchilada soup on Chef in Training. There's a bit of prep work to do in the beginning, but it's well worth it. It's hearty and full of delicious flavours.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 can of chicken broth, divided
• 1 jar of taco sauce
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1/2 package of frozen corn (350 g)
• 1/2 a red onion, chopped
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 cup shredded aged cheddar

Melt the butter over medium-low heat and stir in the flour to form a roux. Heat the roux until it turns golden brown and smells nice and toasty. Slowly add the milk and half the can of chicken broth and stir continually to prevent lumps. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it boils and thickens, stirring continually to prevent burning.

Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl and whisk together with the taco sauce.

In your slow cooker, add the black beans, jalapenos, corn, tomatoes and onion. Put the chicken breast on top and pour in the sauce mixture and the remainder of the chicken broth. Make sure all of the ingredients are completely covered. Cook on high for approximately 3 hours, or on low for approximately 6 or 7 hours.

Take the chicken breast out and shred it with two forks. If it is cooked through, it should shred easily. Put the shredded chicken back in the slow cooker, mix the contents, and cook for another hour or two until the soup is well heated through.

Serve with shredded cheese on top. Sour cream or avocado would be tasty too!

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