Taco Soup

Given that most days I get home from work with almost no desire to do anything, I am a big fan of quick and easy recipes. Anything that I can prepare without a lot of work is likely to be something I’ll make often – especially if cleanup is easy too.

A quick soup is especially good. First off, its soup – perhaps the most comforting of comfort foods. Second, it’s easy to make a lot of soup for company. Third, on a good cold day, a hot bowl of soup most always hits the spot.

With all that in mind, here’s one of my favorite quick and easy soup recipes.

Taco Soup

Serves 8 to 10

1 pound ground chuck
1 large onion, chopped
3 cans (14 - 16 ounces) Mexican style chili beans, undrained
1 can (14 – 16 ounces) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can (14 – 16 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (14 – 16 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 – 6 ounces) chopped green chilies, undrained
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 ½ cups of water
Assorted garnishes

Cook beef and onion in a large pot over, medium high heat until the meat is browned and the onion is tender, stirring until the meat crumbles. Drain and return to pot.

Stir in the beans, corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, green chilies, taco seasoning, ranch seasoning and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon soup into bowls. Top with corn chips, tortilla strips, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, shredded Cheddar cheese – pretty much anything you like on a taco can go on your taco soup.

Source: The Best of Mr. Food from Oxmoor House, Inc. © 2000

Notes from the Hare

Sometimes I leave out the onion – mainly because I forget to get one. I routinely forget the ranch dressing mix, and it doesn’t seem to impact the taste at all. You can add more spices to your own taste as well. I like some black and red pepper in mine, for example.

I tend to mix up the beans a little – my usual mix is 2 cans of chili beans and 1 can of black beans.

The meat is flexible too. You can make this with ground beef, sirloin, pork, sausage, chicken or turkey if you are so inclined. Vegetarians can use any meat substitute (like Crumbles) in place of the real meat.