Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes

Nothing fills the belly and warms the heart quite like a good chicken tortilla soup recipe. Made with real chicken, peppers, tortilla strips, tomatoes and more, the chicken tortilla soup is a delicious food that the entire family will enjoy. There are dozens of different types of recipes available for making these soups. Each one has its own unique twist, as there is no such thing as a “traditional recipe” – even within Mexico, the ingredients that go into these soups can vary by region, with each one having its own special flavor for you to enjoy. That said, you will generally find a chicken tortilla soup recipe that is cooked in one of two methods: 1)    Slow Cooker (Crockpot) 2)    Standard Pot Before you go about choosing your chicken tortilla soup recipe, you will need to ask yourself which of these cooking methods you prefer, based on the benefits and weaknesses of their systems. Slow Cooker/Crockpot Benefits As with many things in life, time is of limited quantity. A slow cooker allows you to start cooking when you have some free time so that the meal will be ready when you are ready to eat it. In addition, slow cookers do not heat to a boil, which can help you keep some of the vital nutrients inside of the dish so that your meal turns out healthier. Finally, slow cooking allows juices to seep into your meats better than they would previously, allowing you to fully savor every bite. Weaknesses Slow cookers are very slow – you simply cannot cook any meal on the fly as you could with a pot. Similarly, many ingredients that you may enjoy that are found in a traditional chicken tortilla soup recipe may lose its flavor when cooked over a long period of time in the Crockpot. Hot spices, for example, tend to become bland and bitter if cooked for too long. This can be a problem, and will limit the number of recipes you will be able to use. Standard Pot Benefits Standard pots allow you to cook quickly and easily, ready to make an entire meal for you and your family. You will not need to worry about the meal being done when you are ready for it, nor will you be unpleasantly surprised by a poor tasting food since you can test your soup as you cook it. There are also far more recipes designed for the standard pot than there are for the Crockpot. Weaknesses Standard pots can damage nutrients, and require you to be constantly at work cooking the soup before your meal. You cannot prepare ahead of time with the standard pot, as the chicken is not meant to sit for very long before serving. Both of these cooking methods have their benefits and weaknesses for your chicken tortilla soup needs. A slow cooker will allow you to prepare the food ahead of time for consumption so that it is ready by the time you are ready to enjoy it, and it may be able to retain greater nutrient levels, but standard pots are faster, easier, and work with many of the traditional recipes. Luckily, whichever one you choose will be more than suitable for cooking a delicious meal for you to enjoy.