Cooking in the Creek has definitely been suffering lately as I just recently had knee surgery and have been focusing on my road to recovery. Gabe has been doing a great job of taking care of me, along with my family too. I don’t know where I’d be without their help. One of the hardest things I’ve realized about recovery has been having patience, and just reminding myself to take it day by day. With that in mind and trying to keep alive certain parts of my life, like Cooking in the Creek, I decided a slow cooker meal would be easy enough and definitely appropriate for fall! It’s also the first slow cooker meal on the blog! Gabe prepped all the ingredients the night before, and all I had to do was pour it all into the slow cooker the next morning. It’s truly a one-step slow cooker meal, no pre-cooking required. It’s a wonderful thing to come home to after a long day, and smells lovely! Happy Fall!

sweet-potato-chicken-quinoa-soup

sweet-potato-chicken-quinoa-soup

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chicken Quinoa Soup

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 8 hours

Total time: 8 hours and 15 minutes

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 large sweet potatoes, cubed (1 pound or 3 1/2 cups)

1 15-ounce can black beans

1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

5 cups chicken broth

Optional: fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

Spray the slow cooker with nonstick spray. Place the chicken breasts into the slow cooker along with the rinsed quinoa. Remove the skins and chop the sweet potatoes into cubes adding them into the slow cooker. Drain and rinse the black beans and add those in. Add in the undrained petite-diced tomatoes, garlic, seasonings, and chicken broth.

Set slow cooker on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.

Once finished cooking, use two forks to shred the chicken and stir all the ingredients together. Add salt and pepper if needed, and fresh parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.

Recipe inspired by Chelsea’s Messy Apron.