Did you know that February is National Canned Food Month? Jewel-Osco is helping celebrate the fact that “Cans Get You Cooking!” This is a good time to stock up on canned fruits, vegetables, beans and soups, as you’re going to see great sale prices all month long on canned goods. Having canned foods on hand at home and keeping your “cantry” well-stocked with cooking staples helps you put nutritious meals together quickly.
I like cooking with cans, because they reduce preparation time so much — a must on busy nights when our family is headed to scouts, sports, and other activities. Cooking with cans is budget-friendly too.
Here’s one of my favorite slow-cooker recipes to make. Aside from opening cans and dumping them into your slow cooker, there’s no food prep whatsoever — you can have this simmering in a pot in less than five minutes!
This is one of those simple, crowd-pleasing recipes that has my kids reaching for the ladle to pour themselves a second bowl…
Ridiculously Easy 5-Minute Tortilla Soup
- Two 9.75oz. cans white chunk chicken breast
*You can also use leftover chicken or pork — it’s just as good! - One 25oz. can hominy (don’t let this scare you if you’ve never cooked with it. Hominy is puffed corn, and it’s very hearty in this dish!)
- One 10.5 oz. can cream of chicken soup
- One 15.25oz can kernel corn
- One 10oz. can enchilada sauce
- One 15oz. can black beans
- One 15.5oz. can chili beans
- One 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
- One packet taco seasoning
For serving: Tortilla chips and shredded cheese (we like cheddar or pepper jack)
Open and dump all ingredients into a slow cooker. You do not need to drain any of the cans — the liquid in each can goes right into the soup. (This takes less than 5 minutes!) Stir lightly to mix all ingredients and cover. Cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
If you’re really time-crunched, you can cook this on the stovetop instead: Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. I find that the slow cooker does a better job of infusing all of the flavors together though.
To serve, crumble a small handful of tortilla chips into soup bowl before ladling soup. Sprinkle soup with cheese and garnish with chips before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.
This recipe makes about ten 1 1/2 cup servings (though good luck having just one bowl!) In our house, this will feed our family of five for dinner with just enough left for my husband and I to enjoy for lunch later in the week.
On days I know our family is going to be very busy, I like to throw this meal together right after breakfast. I’ll turn on the slow cooker and let it cook all day long. There’s a sense of contentment knowing that a healthy dinner will be on the table no matter how busy our evening plans turn out to be.
This is a great, easy recipe for entertaining too — try it instead of chili!
I always have these ingredients in our pantry as I stock up on them whenever they’re on sale. Why not head down to Jewel-Osco and pick up these ingredients today?
Hashtags: #CansGetYouCooking #NationalCannedFoodMonth
