Best Ever (and easy) Taco Soup
When Sal and I first got married and moved into our first home together, we found ourselves eating the same four or five meals over and over. It got old really fast, so we made an agreement to try new recipes. Sal can be a picky eater so along with the agreement came a statement something like this,
"If you hate it, I'll never make it again."
Luckily, I have found a few new recipes that he loves and now we are trying not to eat them too much, and get sick of them.
One of those is our Taco Soup recipe. I have a friend in college who is great at meal prep and because we have had night classes together, I've gotten to smell a few of her dinners. One of them was taco soup, so I asked for recipe. It was awesome! It completely won over Sal from our first try at it. In the past couple of months I have added a few ingredients and made some changes to make it fit our taste a little better, and make the recipe a little larger so we have enough for a couple of lunches during the week.
Our recipe is simple, slow cooker friendly, and gives us a dinner and at least four lunch servings. WIN.
The recipe starts with some canned goods and a couple diced vegetables.
This is where things get tricky... Okay, not really. I add the two cans of petite diced tomatoes, one can of tomatoes and diced green chilies, one can of corn, one can of black beans, and one can of kidney beans. I also add half of a bell pepper, whatever we have on hand, yellow, red, or orange.
Meanwhile, I brown up the meat. Ground beef is typical for this recipe, we have been using venison because it is what we have on hand and we truly enjoy it!
After the meat is browned I make a little well in the pan and put about a half of a cup, maybe a little more, of diced onion. I like to let it cook a bit directly on the pan before stirring it in with the meat. I let the meat and onion cook together until the onions are nearly transparent.
Now I add the meat and onions to the slow cooker with the veggies and beans and stir it all together.
This is where the magic happens. Seasoning. I cannot stress enough how important it is to season your food! It makes all the difference for me! I add one packet of mild taco seasoning, you can choose the spice level of course, 1/2 tablespoon of oregano and basil, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and some pepper. I choose not to add salt simply because you cannot take it out once it is in, and it's so simple to add later to each individual taste.
Now I just stir everything up, put the lid on the crock, and let it go! If I am making this ahead of time, I just slide the crock into the refrigerator until it needs to start cooking.
Otherwise, I put the slow cooker on low and let it work its magic for about 6 hours, stirring occasionally.
When it is finished I am always so excited. I like to explain it to others as a Mexican inspired chili. It is hearty and full of flavor. I like to top mine with some cheese and eat it with tortilla chips. I have also dolloped the top with fresh guacamole and sour cream.
I hope this recipe is as loved by your family as it is mine! Enjoy!
Until next time, xoxo
"If you hate it, I'll never make it again."
Luckily, I have found a few new recipes that he loves and now we are trying not to eat them too much, and get sick of them.
One of those is our Taco Soup recipe. I have a friend in college who is great at meal prep and because we have had night classes together, I've gotten to smell a few of her dinners. One of them was taco soup, so I asked for recipe. It was awesome! It completely won over Sal from our first try at it. In the past couple of months I have added a few ingredients and made some changes to make it fit our taste a little better, and make the recipe a little larger so we have enough for a couple of lunches during the week.
Our recipe is simple, slow cooker friendly, and gives us a dinner and at least four lunch servings. WIN.
The recipe starts with some canned goods and a couple diced vegetables.
This is where things get tricky... Okay, not really. I add the two cans of petite diced tomatoes, one can of tomatoes and diced green chilies, one can of corn, one can of black beans, and one can of kidney beans. I also add half of a bell pepper, whatever we have on hand, yellow, red, or orange.
Meanwhile, I brown up the meat. Ground beef is typical for this recipe, we have been using venison because it is what we have on hand and we truly enjoy it!
After the meat is browned I make a little well in the pan and put about a half of a cup, maybe a little more, of diced onion. I like to let it cook a bit directly on the pan before stirring it in with the meat. I let the meat and onion cook together until the onions are nearly transparent.
Now I add the meat and onions to the slow cooker with the veggies and beans and stir it all together.
This is where the magic happens. Seasoning. I cannot stress enough how important it is to season your food! It makes all the difference for me! I add one packet of mild taco seasoning, you can choose the spice level of course, 1/2 tablespoon of oregano and basil, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and some pepper. I choose not to add salt simply because you cannot take it out once it is in, and it's so simple to add later to each individual taste.
Now I just stir everything up, put the lid on the crock, and let it go! If I am making this ahead of time, I just slide the crock into the refrigerator until it needs to start cooking.
Otherwise, I put the slow cooker on low and let it work its magic for about 6 hours, stirring occasionally.
When it is finished I am always so excited. I like to explain it to others as a Mexican inspired chili. It is hearty and full of flavor. I like to top mine with some cheese and eat it with tortilla chips. I have also dolloped the top with fresh guacamole and sour cream.
I hope this recipe is as loved by your family as it is mine! Enjoy!
Until next time, xoxo
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