the crock-pot fiasco

I came home from campus this morning for a 40 minute interlude before I needed to be at the Health Center for a doctors appointment. During my 40 minute break I had two goals: 1) put together the chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot so it can be ready for an early dinner before Ben's basketball game tonight, 2) eat lunch so I'm not starving at the doctor's. Simple enough, right?

So not so!

I started putting the ingredients in our normal crock-pot, the one I've had since my days of singledom. I soon realize that I need 3 cans of chicken broth, not the 2 that are in my cupboard, and the chicken broth I have anyway combined with the can of diced tomatoes are going to overflow my little crocky. So, I pull out the nice, big, family size crock-pot that we received for our wedding, unwrap it, get it all set up, and start transferring the ingredients over. I transfer the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and chicken. Then I dice onion and green pepper, add cumin, chili powder, black pepper, and corn. It's all coming together. It fits. And it (should) smell really good. But all I can smell is smoke!

I put my nose near the base of the crock-pot and realize it's the heating part of the base that smells not too friendly. Luckily, the pot itself has not fully heated, so I grab the handles and pull it out. I unplug the base, exam it, turn it over and put my face real close, and there is a little puff of smoke that blows right into my eye! It hurt! So I run around the house to find my phone to call Ben so he can come home and take me to the hospital before I go blind . . . Okay, just kidding. My eye watered a little and then I put the base down.

Now what am I going to do?

I decide to **hope** that I can fit it all in the small crock-pot - I mean, I am missing a can of chicken broth, so it might be possible. It would be a disaster to try to pour it, so I ladle all of the soup - scoop, by scoop, back into trusty ol' crocky and there it lays - about a quarter of an inch over-flowing!

I am totally returning that nasty old smoker! We need a full size crock-pot! (My mother has been telling me this since I started dating/feeding Ben.)

Anywho, if you want the recipe, it is delicious. And it's below:

Tex-Mex Tortilla Soup

Put all of these things in a big enough crock-pot:

1 to 1/14 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (I use tenderloins), frozen

3 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/4 cup chopped green sweet peppers
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon black powder
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

Cook for 3-4 hours, then serve with tortilla chips, pepper jack cheese, avocado, lime wedges, etc.

Yum!

Oh, and did I mention that when I went to the doctor's I had to give blood?!

My least favorite thing in the whole world!

:)