Zesty queso chicken soup – keto

Why do I love soup so much? Not just because they are warm and delicious! Many of them are a dump and go recipe. I had a busy day at work so I threw this in the crockpot yesterday afternoon. Only thing that took a minute was to shred the chicken and dump it back in. Literally, took me a minute. Does it get any easier than that? No browning meat. No dirtying a bunch of dishes. Just a creamy soup with great flavor and a little kick. Well, the way I made it anyway. But I love the spicy stuff. This is a keto recipe but can easily be altered.

INGREDIENTS

2 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

14 ounces petite diced tomatoes not drained

2 10 oz cans of rotel

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups chicken broth

8 ounces cream cheese softened

Optional:

2 cups baby spinach

1 tbsp diced jalapeno

 

Optional toppings:

Avocado

Monterrey or Colby jack cheese

Jalapenos

Dash of hot sauce

 

Non keto add ons:

Black beans

Corn

Tortilla strips on top

Notes: The original recipe called for 28 oz of diced tomatoes and 1 cup salsa verde or green salsa. I opted for the combination of diced tomatoes and rotel above because that’s what I had on hand. I also added 2 cups of spinach because I need more greens. I’m allergic to avocado so that’s a no go for me but I did top it with a pinch of shredded Colby jack.

DIRECTIONS

Instapot:

Place chicken, taco seasoning, tomatoes with juices, salt, chicken broth, and green salsa in Instant Pot. Set to manual mode and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure. Allow pressure to release naturally (about 15 minutes), remove and shred the chicken. Set aside. Stir softened cream cheese into the soup in the pot and whisk until fully melted. Return chicken to the soup and serve with diced avocado and monterrey jack cheese.

Slow Cooker:

Place all ingredients except cream cheese in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or until the chicken is tender and shreds easily. Add cream cheese and stir until melted.

One pot chicken thighs and creamed spinach dip - Keto

This recipe is OMG to die for. I made it last night and I can’t wait to warm up some leftovers again for dinner. The frying of the chicken is a little messy so I may try it in the air fryer next time but I love the crispiness of the chicken in the pan. The creamy spinach (aka spinach dip) is so delicious I could just eat that as a dip with crackers or tortilla chips. This is hands down one of my favorite recipes I’ve made this year. The picture doesn't do it justice at all. 

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons oil

Seasonings: salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder

5-6 bone in, skin on chicken thighs

8 ounce package cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese

1 can mild Rotel

 

DIRECTIONS

Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder.  Add the chicken thighs to the skillet skin side down, and cover with a splatter guard, if desired.

When the chicken skin is crispy and releases from the pan (about 15 minutes), flip them to the other side. Let cook until an internal temperature thermometer reads 165F.  Remove from pan onto a plate and set aside.  Pour out any grease that is left in the pan.

In the same skillet add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, and stir to combine. Add the spinach. Once this mixture is getting melty, add the can of rotel and parmesan/asiago cheese blend. Stir until creamy. 

Notes:

The original recipe called for 12 oz frozen chopped spinach, but I used fresh baby spinach. It also said 1 cup of parmesan, but I mixed it up with the asiago. If you’re not a chicken on the bone person use chicken breasts or tenderloin strips. You won’t have the crisp skin but it will still be a magical combination.

Hot chicken queso dip

Ingredients:

1 block (32 oz) of velveeta cheese.

1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese.

1 can (10 oz) of rotel.

1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup

1 pound of shredded chicken

2 Tbsp hot sauce

¼ cup salsa

In a crock pot, pour the cream cheese and add in the velveeta cheese after you cut it into cubes. Stir in all ingredients and cook on low for an hour.

**You can substitute the chicken for ground beef or sausage and the cream of chicken with cream of mushroom.

This was ooey gooey cheesy goodness.  Personally, next time I would add a little more hot sauce or use hot instead of mild rotel but I like things spicy.  

Crockpot chicken tortilla soup

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast or tenders

15 oz. can rotel

10 oz. can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

4 oz. can chopped green chile peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

14.5 oz. can chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

10 oz. package frozen corn

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Vegetable oil

7 corn tortillas

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 setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, and then spread on a baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.

When soup is done, shred the chicken breasts with a fork.  Sprinkle tortilla strips over soup. Garnish with avocado if desired.

Summer made this for soup night and actually didn’t use tortillas.  It was still awesome! Just more of a broth based soup.  Also, if you don’t like heat, cut the cayenne pepper and replace the can of rotel with a can of diced tomatoes! Add some black beans! Another tweak, use all chicken broth instead of the 2 cups of water.  

Spicy sausage dip

Ingredients:

16 oz. spicy/zesty sausage

15 oz. can rotel

2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese

1 small can of yellow corn, drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Hot sauce to taste

Cook crumbled sausage until browned. Drain off fat.  Reduce heat to medium and add all other ingredients.  Stir frequently until melted together.  Serve warm with crackers or tortilla chips.  Add more hot sauce as needed. 

I made this in the crockpot and it turned out great. The original recipe did not call for the corn or the shredded cheese but I’m glad I added them.  It made it go a little farther and added a nice texture.  You could add black beans to this as well.  

Fiesta chicken

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

2 cups grilled chicken breast (or 2 cans of chicken breast chunks)

2 cups medium shell pasta (cooked)

2 cups cheddar/jack shredded cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can Rotel

½ cup milk

1 can diced chilies (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients except cheese.  Pour into a 9x13 pan, cover with cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

My oven was full of other things when I was making this so I decided to just do it as a stove top recipe.  I halved the shredded cheese and used some velveeta to make it creamy.  I opted not to use the diced chilies and I’m glad I did.  This has some good kick to it with just the rotel.  Mine was a bit soupy but it was really good.  This is super easy to make via skillet or baking, I’m sure.  Kid and husband friendly quick recipe for dinner.  

Easy pork enchiladas

Review by Lyndee:

Remember my crockpot pulled pork recipe last week? Well we had a lot of meat leftover and I decided to use it up in something spectacular last night.  The kids love Mexican food.  We’re generally chicken or beef kind of taco people but the idea came to me to get a little creative.

1 package flour tortillas

Pulled pork

1 can rotel

1 jar queso

Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450.  Grease baking dish with non-stick spray. 

Place pork on tortilla in a line.  Add a dollop of queso and a pinch of shredded cheese. Roll and put in the baking dish.  Repeat.  Our 9x13 held six enchiladas.  Pour one can of rotel over the top.  Add a few more dollops of queso and some shredded cheese.  Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and edges of tortilla are starting to crisp.  Serve with salsa and cilantro.

This was very easy to throw together and the boys just died over it.  They chowed down and kept moaning and oohing and aahing how I need to make these again soon.  They were shoveling it in so fast I told them to slow down so they didn’t choke.  They said it was one of the best recipe experiments I’ve done yet and that’s saying a lot.  We will definitely be putting this in the dinner rotation.