Mexican Chicken and Veggie Stoup

That's right I said "stoup"... lame. I'm a kook. As much as I think Rachel Ray is annoying I don't think there anything else to call this. It heartier than a soup, but not as this as stew. So there you have it.... Stoup(id)

Beth and I recently bought a crock pot and this was my second attempt at using it. My first attempt came out OK. It was a Chicken and Veggie soup. A slow cooker/crock pot is perfect for us with how busy we are. Just throw all the ingredients in the pot before we leave the house in the morning, set it low... and BAM... dinner is ready and waiting after a long day of work and training. No cooking.

Like I said, my first concoction came out just OK. I made a couple of bad vegetable choice (broccoli & Brussels sprouts) that did not hold up well in the slow cooking process. The rest of the veggies (carrots, sweet potato, celery, onion) and the chicken came out well, but the bad veggies kind of killed it.

So this time I was a little smarter and decided to mexi-fy (sweet word... I'm sure it's in the dictionary) it. So here's the recipe.

1 sweet potato, rough chopped
6 celery stalks, rough chopped
1 Huge sweet onion, rough chopped
2 parsnips. rough chopped
4 large carrots, rough chopped
4 small red potatoes, quartered
3 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, slliced
2 basil leaves
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can smoked, diced green chilies
6 cups of chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste.

I chopped all the veggies and chicken up the night before so the morning was easy. All of this was thrown into the crock pot in the morning after getting off the bike and heading out the door to work. I set it on low for 7 hours and once the cooking time expires it switches to "keep warm" mode for up to 4 more hours. Perfect.

Beth and I both ran with the lululemon run and when we got home dinner was already ready already. sweet.

I topped it with organic, baked yellow corn tortilla chips, avocado, hot sauce, and some sour cream.

It was good and hit the spot.... but still not great. There was something missing. I could have seasoned it a little better. Maybe some cumin or chili powder, ot added some stewed tomatoes... not sure. Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Next week I'll give the crock pot another go. This time I am thinking beef stew.... or come kind of seafood stew.... or carnitas. We'll see.