BBQ Chicken Pizza Soup

My friend, Anita, is making her first Market to Meal guest blogging appearance today! I actually have several recipes she's put together to share that will be coming up. I can't wait to try this soup! Enjoy! 

Our family loves barbecue chicken pizza, so when I came across this recipe, I was intrigued to make it to see what it would taste like. It was pretty easy and quick to whip up.  And then I figured out how to make it even easier by cooking it in the slow cooker.  And now it’s been added to our regular soup rotation.  I like to serve it with beer bread or any basic hearty bread.  I’ve included the stove top method and the slow cooker method for you depending on what you prefer to use.

BBQ Chicken Pizza Soup
2 Tbsp (olive) oil or butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
300g or 2 cups corn, fresh or frozen 
½ to 1 red or green bell pepper, small diced (I use red)
about 700g chicken meat (around 2 breasts, or 1 leg + 1 breast), cooked and shredded
1 ½ cups chicken broth (or 1 ½ cups water plus 1 Tbsp chicken bouillon)
½ cup BBQ sauce, homemade or store-bought
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Garnishes
1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese 
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Stove top method:
Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat.  Once hot, sauté onion and bell pepper for about 5 minutes or until softened.  Stir in garlic and cook one minute longer.  Add corn and chicken breast; mix to combine. Pour in chicken broth, BBQ sauce, salt and pepper.   Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 more minutes or until ready to serve.  Adjust salt and pepper to your taste. Garnish bowls with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and chopped cilantro and serve with a slice of crusty bread.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Slow cooker method:
Omit oil or butter.  Throw in everything else minus corn and garnish (cheese and cilantro).  I throw the chicken in whole and raw, and whole garlic cloves, too.  Add 3 extra cups water, or as much is needed as it boils off.  Let it simmer for about 6 hours until chicken is soft and can be easily shredded. 

About 10 minutes before serving, remove chicken to shred it up (remove bones, skin and fat if you used bone-in) and then return to pot. Smash the garlic cloves and return to pot. Add corn and cook through, about 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Garnish bowls with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and chopped cilantro and serve with a slice of crusty bread.

Notes: You can tweak seasonings to your taste depending on what you like and have on hand, i.e. chicken grill seasonings, Cajun seasoning, chipotle, red pepper flakes or other chili pepper if you want to add some heat.  Sometimes I add 1 ½ cups cooked black beans as well.