Taco Soup

If you know me at all, you know that I live for the hot, summer months.  And you know that I simply tolerate winter-mostly because I don't have much of a choice-short of moving to the tropics.  I don't know how people survive winter where snow stays on the ground the majority of the cold months.  I am the crazy person who wears my leather coat not just in December, but also in July (granted it is to stay warm because of the A/C).  And I sleep with a mink blanket year round.


Thankfully (well, for me at least!), this winter has been super mild in Texas.  We have had a few cold spells, but nothing that has lasted too long.  My hubby made our favorite soups-chicken and dumplings, gumbo, chili.  But it didn't stay cold long enough to make taco soup. I'll admit it-soup is probably the only reason I like cold weather.  And I was a little disappointed that I didn't have a chance to eat taco soup-not that you would hear me complain about it.


Enter Spring Break.  Yes, Spring Break has started-and now it decides to get down to 40 degrees(well, turns out it is in the 50's, but it is raining, so it seems like it is in the 40's).  Thankfully this year I didn't take off work to head to the coast and enjoy the beach, because, let's face it, the beach is just not very enjoyable when it's 40 degrees outside.  But, It's all good!  I finally have a chance to make taco soup!


I decided that I would make it in the crock pot today-that way I could smell it all day long, just waiting for me to dig in-without having to keep a close eye on it since I will probably be in and out much of the day.


I started off with a pound of ground beef...

...and an onion. 

I fried up the ground beef...

...and chopped the onion.

I normally would throw the onion in with the ground beef, but I figured that since it would be simmering all day long, I would just skip that step, and throw it straight in the crock pot.

I drained and rinsed the ground beef...look at that steam!

Then I added it to the top of the onions.

Next I sprinkled on some taco seasoning which I had made a while back... 

Yum!  It is starting to smell good!

Next I opened a can of kidney beans, and drained some of the liquid just off the top...

...and added it to the crock pot.

I drained a can of black beans just a little like I did the others...

...and added it on top.

I did a can of corn the same way.

Talk about a simple recipe coming together!

We had some leftover tomato sauce in the fridge, so I dumped that in (probably about the equivalent of a 28 ounce can).

And then 2 cans of diced tomatoes (these I did not drain)...

There it is!  That simple!

I stirred it all up and set it on low.

After a few hours, all I had to do was add some tortilla chips to a bowl, cover them in soup, and add some shredded cheese.  Yum!  Good enough to eat!