Chicken Taco Chili

I wish I could bottle up and keep Lucy in the current stage she is in forever and ever. Goodness gracious, this little girl has my whole heart and soul. She is adorable, sweet, and possesses such an infectious wonderment and excitement for life. No matter where we are going or what we plan to do, she is always eager to get ready and go.

We need to go to the grocery store. Ok Mommy, I get my shoes on!

We need to go to an appointment at the doctor's. Ok Mommy, I coming! I coming! 

We need to get ready for bed. Ok Mommy, I get my snowman on! (Her "snowman" is her favorite nightgown. Yes, it has snowmen on it. Yes, she wears it all year round because she loves it so much.)

I just love, love, love her so much. I love all my kids equally, but Lucy admittedly has me wrapped around her fat little finger right now.

I've decided to try to put together a little interview for each of my kids and figured I would begin with the most agreeable child at the moment. So, today I am highlighting Lucy. I'll interview the other two troublemakers in the next week or two.

Her responses were pretty much what you'd expect from a two-year-old with the attention span of a fruit fly. It was pretty cute asking her some of the questions and then watching her blink, narrow her eyes, and furrow her brow while trying to comprehend what was just asked of her. I couldn't help commenting on a couple of her responses and my comments appear in parenthesis.

What is your favorite color?
I color at Chick-Fil-A. I color PINK!

What is your favorite food?
My eggs!

What is your favorite treat? 
Ice Cream!!

What is your favorite sport? 
Ummm…Ummmm….(Notre Dame Football is the only acceptable answer)

What is your favorite hobby? 
I love tic-tac-toe!

What is your favorite movie? 
I love Moana. Watch Moana. Hey-Hey So FUNNY!

What is your favorite tv show? 
I watch Daniel Tiger. Daniel Tiger SO FUNNY!

What is your favorite book? 
One more SCOOP! (It’s a line from a book called Just One More).

What is your favorite animal?
I like giraffe. RED PANDA!! At the ZOO!!

What is your favorite song? 
Trolls. (She does love that soundtrack!)

What is your favorite restaurant?
Ummm…Ummm…Uhhhhhh (I’m just going to answer for her. Chick-Fil-A. Without a doubt!)

What is your favorite fruit? 
Blueberry and strawberry

What is your favorite place to visit? 
I have fun with Carrie at the Y.

Who is your best friend?
My house! (That's interesting...)

Who is your favorite cousin? 
I love my cousin.

What’s your favorite thing to do with Emma? 
Go to the park!

What’s your favorite thing to do with Matthew?
Jump on the trampoline with Matthew! But it’s getting darky.

What’s your favorite thing to do with Dad?
Play with Daddy at the park!

What’s your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Play with Mommy at the park! (I’m noticing a theme)

What’s your favorite thing to do with Peyton (pet)?
I tell Peyton to stay! Stay Peyton, STAY! Sit Peyton, SIT!

Where do you think you’ll go to college?
I color at the Y.

Where do you think you might get married? 
Mommy, I want to watch Zootopia.

What do you want to be when you grow up? 
I get French fries when I get bigger. And watch Zootopia.

What is one thing you want to learn how to do?
Umm…ummm….I cook. And watch Zootopia.

What is one of your greatest talents?
That’s Peyton. He’s a little doggie. Little doggie. A cute little doggie. I love Peyton. Cute little doggie. I wish that.

What are some of your other strengths?
Thank goodness it’s Monday. (It’s actually Thursday)

What is something that you wish for? 
Mommy, there are a lot of clouds. I think there’s a storm.

What is something you wonder about? 
I walked into the wall.

Who is someone that you miss? 
The monkeys are loud. At the zoo. We go look at the monkeys at the zoo? We go to the zoo! The monkey house!!

What makes you nervous? 
Matthew’s at school. Then we go to the zoo! (Still hung up on the last question)

What makes you happy? 
Lucy SO HAPPY! Mommy like to color? (We always stay on topic)

The recipe I wanted to share with you today was something I threw together really quickly because I had a super busy day ahead and basically did not want to have to think about dinner. One day a week, I have a busy day that does not end until I come home around 6:00pm and on those days I prefer to walk in the door with dinner basically ready for me. Thus, a crockpot meal is pretty much a must unless we are making something simple like sandwiches or scrambled eggs.

I had originally intended on making a Chicken Tortilla Soup because I figured I had most of the ingredients already in my pantry but, alas, I actually did not have any tortilla chips. So I threw together something I am calling a Chicken Taco Chili because that's pretty much the best way to describe it. Paul, the kids, and I loved it so much that he ordered me to write down exactly what I did so I could replicate it again. So, apologies for the goofy recipe I have put together below, but it is pretty much exactly what I did. Including the part about having too much liquid for my *tiny* crockpot so I ended up having to transfer the finished product to the stovetop for the final simmer stage. If you also possess a smaller crockpot, by all means halve this recipe! Paul was obsessed with this soup so I will definitely be making it again and probably will replicate everything exactly, with the exception of using a bigger crockpot.

And please, please serve with plenty of cheese, sour cream, and (if you a have them) tortilla chips. I also cut up some fresh avocado to sprinkle on top and Matthew - the avocado lover - was especially a fan of this extra fresh flourish.

Chicken Taco Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeds removed, minced
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the canned chipotle peppers above)
4 cups chicken broth
3 large chicken breasts
1 packet taco seasoning (or make you're own - recipe below)
2 14.5 ounce cans Chili Style Diced Tomatoes
1 28-ounce can plain diced tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can pinto beans, drained
2 cans Black Beans in Chili Sauce (I like Bush's), undrained and divided
1/2 cup salsa
Shredded Cheese, for serving
Diced Avocado, for serving
Sour Cream, for serving
Crushed Tortilla Chips, for serving
Lime Wedges, for serving

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the diced onion and peppers and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and saute for an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the minced chipotle peppers and adobo sauce and cook an additional 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and stir well, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and set aside for a minute.

Nestle the chicken into the bottom of a very large (8 quart capacity) slow cooker and sprinkle with the taco seasoning (if making your own, use 3 tablespoons). Add the vegetable/chicken broth mixture, tomatoes, tomato paste, pinto beans, and one can of black beans. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 5 hours.

When ready, remove the chicken and shred with a fork. In a blender, add the remaining can of black beans, salsa, and a few ladles of the vegetable/tomato mixture from the slow cooker. Puree until smooth. This is where it gets a little goofy depending on the size of your slow cooker. Either pour into the slow cooker with the remaining soup, or pour into a large stockpot on the stovetop (my slow cooker couldn't handle any more soup so I had to use a bigger stockpot). However you need to do it, combine the pureed mixture with the remaining soup and shredded chicken (feel free to puree more of the soup if you prefer a smoother consistency). Reheat over low heat, adjusting seasoning as needed with additional chili powder, garlic powder, and salt.

Serve with shredded cheese, diced avocado, sour cream, lime wedges, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.