Mexican Food Night

Growing up, we did not eat a lot of Mexican or Tex/Mex food. However, now that I'm a married lady, making my own meals, I find that I LOVE this type of food. I also love my crockpot, so when this recipe arrived in my inbox from a co-worker, I could not wait to make it! This was really easy and extremely delicious. I did some searching around and found that per serving, this Chicken Tortilla Soup is only about 260 calories per serving. Give this one a try!

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken (I cooked my chicken in the crockpot and shredded it after fully cooked)
1 (15 oz). can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth (I used low sodium)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 oz.) package frozen corn
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High 3-4 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.

4. Bake in a preheated oven until crispy, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle over soup, along with cheese (optional).

Mexican or Tex/Mex food night is not complete in this house without a delicious beverage. We love margaritas but hate how sweet and how high in calories the bottled stuff is. My reality TV obsession actually helped with this - from watching the Real Housewives of New York, I learned that one of the ladies, Bethenny created her own low-calorie drink line, along with other things. I searched on her website for the margarita and found The Skinny Girl Margarita. We figured out our on version of a low-calorie margarita, a variation of Bethenny's.

Better-for-you Margarita
Ingredients: (1 serving)
Ice
Juice of 3 limes, plus lime for garnish
3 oz. White tequila
Splash of orange-flavored liquer (Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, or Cointreau)
Splash of lemonade

Directions:
1. (Optional - salt rim with margarita salt.) Fill glass with ice.

2. Pour in lime juice, tequila, orange liquer, and lemonade.

3. Stir, and garnish with a lime.