Skinny Chicken Tortilla Soup and Autumn Chopped Salad

So, as mentioned in my previous post, I hosted dinner at my house this weekend in celebration of October birthdays. Being that I had plans during the day with my mom, dinner had to be easy. And when I think easy, one thing comes to mind - crock pot! I think I have mentioned in the past that I love recipes that don't require measuring and that is exactly how this recipe is. Now granted, most of the ingredients are in cans, but it's the type of recipe you can alter to your liking. This recipe was given to me by my mom, who got it from a friend of hers. I'm not sure what makes it "skinny" but it makes me want to eat it everyday!

Skinny Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 can refried beans (I use fat free)
2 cans black beans - drained and rinsed
1 can corn - drained
1 can diced chiles (I used the bigger can)
2 cups salsa
2-3 frozen chicken breasts
2-3 cans chicken broth (I used about 3/4 box -- it will depend how think you want it)
1 small can tomato paste
Minced garlic and cayenne pepper for flavor

Toppings:
Shredded cheese
Tortilla chips
Sour cream

Combine all ingredients together in crock pot (except tomato paste), adding the chicken broth last so you can determine how thick/thin you want the soup to be. Cook on low for 6 hours. Pull chicken out and shred with fork. Put back into crock pot and continue cooking for another 2 hours. At this time, if the soup is thinner than you like, add a small can of tomato paste - this will thicken it up. Top with shredded cheese and tortilla chips and sour cream.

This soup typically serves as the main course at our house, however since I was hosting a dinner party, I wanted a little something to go with it. That is when I found this Autumn Chopped Salad that I knew would be perfect! And the best part about it, it looked super easy! I altered it a little from her recipe, and again, didn't measure anything. See Molly's recipe for the original version. This salad would also be awesome served with grilled chicken as she did.

Autumn Chopped Salad - this recipe was about 8 servings
3 stalks romaine lettuce, chopped
2 pears, chopped
dried cranberries
chopped pecans
8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 container feta cheese 
Poppy Seed salad dressing

Combine lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and feta cheese. Drizzle with poopy seed dressing to your liking.

I highly recommend not putting the dressing on the entire salad, and instead putting it on plated salads, as it preserves better. This salad (and soup) is great as leftovers (as pictured below). Enjoy!