Taco Soup

This recipe comes from Joel's sister-in-law, who is actually not Mormon anymore, but she cooks like she is! It's in the genes, I tell ya! We had this soup last year and it was so tasty, I asked for a copy of the recipe. What I got was a list of ingredients and the instructions "cook meat with onion, some chili powder, and cumin." That was it. What I've written below is how I made it, and it tasted just fine. In fact, I served it to my Mormon family and they all looooooved it!  Some might turn up their noses at this recipe because almost every ingredient is canned, and I'm fine with that.  Just don't think any less of me because I liked it!

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 T chili powder (or more, if you want)
1 tsp cumin (again, more if you want)
1 large can tomato sauce
1 can green chilis
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can mixed veggies
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced potatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 envelope ranch dressing
4 Cups water

In large soup pot, cook meat with onion, chili powder, and cumin. Once meat is cooked and onion is tender, drain and rinse beans and drain mixed veggies, corn, and potatoes, add to soup with remaining ingredients, stir and cook until everything is hot or until you're ready to eat.

Seriously, when I saw the recipe, I was like, "An envelope of ranch dressing? Canned potatoes? I've never even seen canned potatoes before." But, once we gathered all of the ingredients, even canned potatoes, and finished the soup, it was pretty dang good!

I think this recipe is pretty typical of Mormon cooking because it's really no muss, no fuss. You can't be making Chicken Marsala every night when you've got a million screaming kids waiting for their dinner. Or, you know, when you don't use wine in your cooking. You get in, throw in a bunch of canned vegetables you have lying around, and you're out! Take it for what it is, but don't knock it until you try it!

Comments

[Joel]

This recipe is great if you want to feed a lot of people with little effort. Plus, it really does taste pretty good.