Recipe: Taco Soup

Justin commented the other day that he knew it was fall because I pulled out my enamel coated cast iron dutch oven. And it's true. That thing hardly sees the light of day during the summer months because I just want to keep the house cool and eat "cool" things. I pulled it out again this week to make Taco Soup. My mom actually gave me this recipe and I think she got it from WeightWatchers. I'm not sure how closely this follows the original recipe, but this is how I make it. It's kind of like taco chili, although this time it didn't have much broth which was unusual.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Beef or Turkey
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can of Corn, drained
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 package of Ranch Dressing mix
• 1 package of Taco Seasoning (I used Penzy's Taco Blend this time)
• 3 cans of Beans (Pinto, Great Northern, Kidney) drained & rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can mild Rotel (drained if you like less spice)

Directions

In a large dutch oven (or whatever you have, I've made it in a 12" skillet before), brown the ground beef/turkey and drain.

Add the garlic, corn and onion to the meat and cook for a few minutes

Add the ranch mix and the taco season, stir until dissolved

Add the beans, tomatoes and Rotel. Simmer for about 20 minutes (or more, it's like chili, the longer it simmers the more flavorful it is, okay there is probably a limit on that, but you know what I mean).

We like to top ours with a little bit of shredded cheddar. I like adding some sour cream, but our sour cream was...not good. It's also good with corn bread, but I was lazy so we had saltine crackers.