Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Soup and Google Analytics

So, I learned something new this week. I often look at other recipe/lifestyle blogs to see what they do as far layouts, pictures, etc. I know most blogs are not like mine which talk about what we are doing and eating. I notice that many blogs have tons of pictures and lengthy writing before you even get to the recipe. After installing Google Analytics on my blog I now understand why. One of the metrics is bounce rate – how quickly people move off your blog once they arrive on it. The longer they linger the better your score. So, if you have to dig around to find a recipe the better their Google score! Aha. Not me. I give you a bit of what is going on in our life and then the recipe. My bounce rate is dismal but I am not going to force you to dig around to find the recipe. Just my two cents.

I love soups. I would eat soup for dinner every night. Half of my family finds soups unsatisfying as a dinner though. They prefer to chew their meals and don’t feel that they are full without that sensation. This is one of my favorite soups as it has tons of flavor AND lots of pieces to chew. Beans help fill them up.

Verdict: I added some tortilla chips, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, green onions, and sour cream for my family to add to the top of their soups as they liked. If you don’t have beer or prefer to leave it out just add an extra cup of chicken stock to your soup.

I love slow cooker soups because I don’t need to think about them during the day once I put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and can get to work. Even working from home this is perfect to make as it fills your house with good smells all day.

I serve this with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, sliced green onions, and sour cream for toppings.

Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Soup

Servings: 6-8 large servings
Time: 4-7 hours in slow cooker
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

1 (14 oz) can white beans, (navy or great northern), drained and rinsed
1 (16 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup beer, IPA or pale ale is best (or chicken stock)
1 large onion, diced
2 red peppers, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon coriander
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 oz cream cheese, softened and cut up
Green onions, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, or sour cream as toppings as desired

Directions:

Lay the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, beans, corn, beer, chicken stock, salt and pepper and seasonings into the slow cooker. Stir to blend all the ingredients together.
Cook on low for 6 1/2 hours or on high for 3 1/2 hours.
Remove the chicken breasts, place on a plate and shred them.
Add the cream cheese to the slow cooker and stir until blended in.
Place the the shredded chicken back into the soup. Allow it to rewarm for 10-15 minutes before serving. Taste and adjust spices to your liking.
Serve warm with toppings as desired.

8 Comments Add yours

homecookexplorer says:

January 7, 2021 at 11:06 am

I’m with you on your take on Google analytics. I prefer to read through a recipe blog quickly and if I like it ie think I’ll use it – I’ll like it. As for photos, I’m no longer going to intersperse photos in the middle of recipe ingredients or instructions b\c if I really like something I’ll copy and paste it to my Google sheet recipe file, along with the recipe url. Photos seriously get in the way of that. I wouldn’t want to similarly frustrate my readers.

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koolaidmoms says:

January 7, 2021 at 4:55 pm

Great idea! Never thought about 5he printing part too.

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Gail’s Snapshotsincursive says:

January 8, 2021 at 8:00 pm

I’m with you. Keep it simple and move on. I don’t really care that much for Google, anyway. 👀🍃

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Audrey/Lady Melady says:

January 9, 2021 at 6:33 am

Agreed on the long scrolling to get to a recipe! And all the pop up videos that are so tiny when I click the x the whole post disappears and I have to start over! Im not giving them credit for delaying me, I leave! But they’re probably making money. (I’m not).
I love soup so much I posted a breakfast soup i my sister dared me to adapt. It was sort of like egg drop soup. Fun!

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koolaidmoms says:

January 9, 2021 at 2:16 pm

Yum on the soup. The other thing is the multi page recipes? Ugh!

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1. Audrey/Lady Melady says:
  
  January 9, 2021 at 3:51 pm
  
  Or the links to Amazon in the ingredients. When you copy the recipe it’s a lot of work to take them out!
  
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