Day 26: Taco Soup

Paul has said on more than one occasion that if he was stranded on a deserted island he could live on taco meat alone. I like tacos, but I don't love them. But given Paul's crazy love for tacos, we eat them about 2-3 times a month. Hence the reason Taco Soup landed on our menu for this week. It seemed right up Paul's alley and putting it in crock pot made it appealing to me especially since it only needed to be in the crock pot for 2-4 hours.

Taco Soup

1lb ground beef

1 can red kidney beans

1 can white corn

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can pinto beans

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

Step 1: Brown meat and drain. Put in crock pot.

Step 2: Add all canned ingredients with juices and envelopes of seasonings

Step 3: Cook on low for 2-4 hours

Kitchen Play by Play: There is no kitchen play by play because there was only one play: open cans and cook meat. It was seriously the simplest thing I have ever done in the kitchen. It was even easier than the french dip recipe because I didn't need to cut any fat off of meat. I did leave out the pinto beans because I couldn't find them. To be honest, I only looked at Super Target. I used 93% lean meat and cooked the soup for about three and a half hours. I topped the soup with cheese and served cheese quesadillas on the side. Next time I'll top the soup with sour cream and tortilla strips to really make it more like a taco.

The Finished Product
The Verdict:
Nicole- I would call it more of a chili than a soup. It had very little liquid and adding water would take away the flavor. Truthfully, having it soupier would probably have grossed me out. I don't like the idea of ground beef floating around my bowl. I thought the taste was awesome and really enjoyed the crunch of the corn. I think I like this better than tacos. I did not have to chop and wash lettuce, tomatoes or olives; I did not have to put out dishes with sour cream, cheese, salsa; and I didn't have to turn on the oven to heat up shells(half of which are usually broken)*. I just threw it all in a crock pot and forgot about it for three hours and still felt like I was having tacos for dinner when it was all said and done. I give it a 4.

Paul-gives it a 4. "good, but not a replacement for tacos. Good flavor, but missed the fresh toppings. More like taco chili."

Austin-ate his whole bowl. He LOVES kidney beans, so I knew he'd like this dish better than others. He even said, "mmmm...tasty."

* I laughed out loud when Paul commented about missing the fresh ingredients. He did not know what I had already written about the fresh ingredient prep. Maybe he should take over the chopping of all the toppings next time we have tacos. :)