Cheese Enchilada Chowder

Hi all! Long time no see! I guess the holidays kept me busy -- sorry about that! I've been trying a lot of new recipes recently, so I'll probably be posting more often.

Cheese Enchilada Chowder

I made this one tonight, and the kids LOVED it. I didn't have tortilla chips but we did put dollops of guacamole and sour cream on top of each serving as suggested.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained (I used the Ro*Tel kind with chiles)
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn (I used a 12-ounce package of SteamFresh)
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped yellow, green, or red sweet pepper (I used one whole green bell pepper)
1 small fresh jalapeño chile pepper (seeded, if desired), finely chopped
1 19-ounce can enchilada sauce (I used medium, which combined with the jalapeños was pretty darned spicy, so maybe for kids the mild type is better.)
1 10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom or onion if you want to make this a vegetarian meal)
2 C milk
1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
1 C shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces) (I used medium but I bed sharp would be good too!)
dairy sour cream (optional)
guacamole (optional)
tortilla chips, coarsely broken (optional)

Directions:
1. In a 3-1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker combine black beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, sweet pepper, and jalapeño chile pepper. In a large bowl whisk together enchilada sauce and cream of chicken (or mushroom or onion) soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over bean mixture in slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.

3. Stir in both cheeses until melted. If desired, top servings with sour cream, guacamole, and tortilla chips.

NOTE: Because chile peppers contain volatile oils that can burn your skin and eyes, avoid direct contact with them as much as possible. When working with chile peppers, wear plastic or rubber gloves. If your bare hands do touch the peppers, wash your hands and nails well with soap and warm water.