SND ~ Chicken Tortilla Soup

Sunday night dinners have been an important ritual in my life since senior year of college. The tradition was first instituted when my long distance boyfriend would visit me in Chapel Hill, and my Sunday anxiety would creep up and take over in the hours before he had to drive back to DC. I needed a little Sunday somethin' to look forward to. Up until this point, cooking was not something I took seriously. (I could throw a rock from my living room door and hit Panera, so cooking was not necessary). 
Image of said college house below for reference.

I still remember the first meal I made: Ina Garten's Herbed goat cheese stuffed chicken. After a few dinners, I got hooked. I started spending tons of my free time on Google Reader, watching Barefoot Contessa, and planning for the next one. 

Yadda, yadda, yadda... I have a four year old cooking blog. 

So, bringing us back to this Sunday Night Dinner. My roommate, Lauren treated me and our friends Peter and Caroline to a big crock pot full of chicken tortilla soup. It's important to ease yourself back into the hamster wheel. Friends and tortilla chips help. (*Image cred: Skinny Taste). 

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
32 oz low sodium chicken broth
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can corn
1 small white onion, diced
1-2 tbsp chili pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Toppings:
grated cheese
avocado
Greek yogurt
hot sauce
cilantro
tortilla chips

Throw in all ingredients above into your crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 (check if chicken is cooked through before shredding, as different crock pots cook at different speeds). Once chicken is cooked through, pull out breasts and shred with a fork. Place chicken back in the crock pot and keep on "warm" until ready to serve. Serve with any or all of the suggested toppings above.