Taco Soup – The Perfect Autumn Dinner!

I love, love, love TACO SOUP!!!  It is the perfect autumn-night dinner.  I’m going to be making it for dinner tomorrow night and can’t wait!  For those of you that love Mexican food (which I do!), this should satisfy your craving (which it does for me!).  It has a little kick to it, but just the perfect amount.  And for those that like things REALLY spicy, you can just add a little more kick to yours!

I use Paula Deen’s recipe and have made it my own along the way.  I like hers because it makes a lot.   I use a 6 qt. crock pot and it’s usually filled to the brim when I make it.  I like to have left overs to eat on for lunch for a couple of days and have frozen some as well to save for meals later on.  If you don’t want make quite that much you can always 1/2 the recipe.

Taco Soup

Printable Version: Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans (I like to use black beans, rinsed)
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (I have trouble finding “Mexican-style sometimes, so I just use regular stewed tomatoes)
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Ro-Tel
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1-2 (1 1/4-ounce) packages taco seasoning mix (I use 1 1/2 – 2 packages because we like ours with a little more kick to it)
• 1 (1-ounce) package Ranch salad dressing mix
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
• 1-2 cups water (depending on how soupy you want it)
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheese for garnish
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

Directions:

Brown the ground beef (or turkey) and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos, if desired.  Serve with corn chips on the side.

Related posts:

1. Mexi-Meal Casserole
2. Black Bean & Tortilla Casserole
3. What's for Dinner Tonight?