Taco Soup -

I love Taco Soup -- update!! My friend April sent this wonderful idea - a new take on taco soup for those of you master crock potters out there.  I think the chicken would be yummy (chicken absorbs flavors so well) and healthy AND no defrosting (I am terrible at remembering to defrost).  Here are her words about Taco Soup:  

We make this all the time, we love it! Because I'm so lazy, I throw it all in the crock pot in the morning, and throw in one or two frozen chicken breasts in place of the meat and a packet of taco seasoning (easy). And, I don't have to wash a pan until the soup is all gone. It takes me less than 5 min. I haven't tried the ranch, but I'm actually making it Friday, so I might throw that in for fun :). 

I love the crock pot! Sometimes even the idea of browning the meat it exhausting to me. Here is the recipe I use, but you can sort of do whatever with it. I also found that at Wal Mart,( no political statement here please;), you can find a jar of chopped onion for 50 cents, which saves you from even cutting up the onion and messing up a perfectly good clean knife and cutting board. It's on the bottom shelf of the spice aisle, usually hiding. I don't measure spices, just throw in a pack of taco seasoning and again, frozen chicken breasts work just fine.  It is here.

I love Taco Soup. I love it because I want to lick the bowl it’s so good. I love it because it’s mostly good for me. I love it because the ingredients can pretty much always be on hand. I love it because it’s easy. I love it because once I make it we can eat it all week long.  It is – in my Tired Girl world – a five for one.  A five-fer. 

I am going to give the abbreviated recipe (the one I actually use) and then at the bottom I will tell the modifications you can make. I like to make this pretty hot/spicy lately. 

1-2 lbs ground beef or ground turkey or crumbled meat-like tofu

onion powder (too much for this TIred Girl  to cut up an onion)

1 envelope ranch dressing

1 envelope taco seasoning

2 cans rotel (I get the “hot”)

1 can pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can cream style corn

1 large can pureed tomatoes

Cayenne pepper

Some water maybe

Brown the meat (while it’s browning I open all cans),

mix in taco packet and ranch dressing packet and simmer for about 5 minutes (ignore that these things contain MSG – just let it go). 

sprinkle in onion powder (too tired to measure things)

dump in cans – I do not drain – I use the liquid in the cans to create the liquid for the soup

sprinkle in the cayenne (maybe too hot for little one's so consider skipping if serving to kids)

mix it all up

let it cook – low bubble, boil – for a while. Sometimes I cook it right up until I serve it and sometimes I turn it off, put the lid on and just let it sit.  SOMETIMES I cook it the same night I cook another easy dinner - with the plans to serve the soup the next night.  It tastes even better the next day and then I have one night of cooking for a whole week of just reheating.

If I am feeling extra skinny then a dollop of sour cream, some cheese and or taco chips are good on top.  If I am not feeling skinny I just eat it as is and it is still yummy.

I get organic meat and all organic canned beans/veggies – this is how I justify the MSG. I often substitute things in to the soup based on what I have – maybe different kinds of beans, sometimes a can of chickpeas, etc.  Whatever. The actual recipe calls for green pepper ( I don’t like) and canned hominy (I skip that).

I do not wait for cold weather for this – I make it all the time – at least once a month. I borrowed these photos from the internet - I included the link to the other recipes if you are interested in variations.

This is a Tired Girl must-have.  

1. http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/taco-soup-111547.aspx

2. http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/deep-south-taco-soup

3. http://www.lifesambrosia.com/2008/12/taco-soup-recipe.html