Taco Soup

     I love, love, love, making soup or anything for that matter in my crock pot. There isn’t much more satisfying than coming home to a home cooked meal that is hot and ready to eat after a long day. Soup is a great meal to make because you can throw virtually anything in the pot and it will come out well. I had a recipe for taco soup that Christine got from a customer of hers. There were no directions on the paper, just ingredients, so I decided dumping them all in the crock would work. ANYONE, can make this soup because it is primarily canned vegetables and requires little prep work. Here is the recipe for those of you who want an easy soup to make:

1½ cups water

1 pound lean ground beef

1 large onion - chopped

1 12oz can crushed tomatoes

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 4.5oz green chilies

1 14oz can whole kernel corn

1 packet ranch dressing

1 packet taco seasoning

     I didn’t have lean ground beef because I primarily buy 80/20, so I browned the beef in a pan until most of the fat had cooked out. But didn’t cook the beef completely through, because it would continue to cook while in the crock pot. Once the fat was drained I added the beef, water, and onion into the crock pot. There isn’t much water in the recipe because there will be a lot more coming from all of the cans. Next, I poured in the contents of both of the cans of tomatoes and the green chilies. I drained most of the water out of the canned corn because there is a lot in there and I didn’t want the soup to be too watery. Finally, I poured both of the packets’ contents on top of everything and mixed until combined. Large crock pots tend to cook hot so I set mine on low even though I would be home after a few hours since I did all of this on my lunch.

     When I got home the kitchen smelled wonderful with a spicy-tomato aroma in the air. All the vegetables had broken down and had become soft. The beef, while normally tough if cooked too long, was very moist. I topped each bowl with some cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Instead of crackers, I served tortilla chips on the side which provided a salty crunch to the meal. Christine and I both mixed the cheese and sour cream around in the soup which thickened it up a little bit but not too much. It is hard to describe the taste other than liquid taco filling but that is how it tasted. It didn’t turn out spicy like I had expected with the taco seasoning and chilies mixed in. That wasn’t a bad thing because it made the soup very light tasting despite its thickness. I will definitely be making this easy soup again, especially during the cold winter nights.

Rating: Delectable - One of the best soups I've made thus far.