Taco soup

Hi all,

It's a cold and windy day today. I woke up this morning wanting to make soup. I went through the pantry, produce, and freezer and decided to make taco soup.

Yesterday I picked up a basket of produce from bountiful baskets and am looking forward to making use of all the produce! 

To make taco soup I would usually use a can of Rotel tomatoes, however I read that it "may contain milk" on the can, who knew?!  Today I will be using fresh tomatoes and green chilies! This should make my soup taste a lot fresher and it will definetly have less sodium using fresh vs. canned!

Here is the green pepper incase you are unsure at the store:

Here is what I use in mine:

1lb hamburger meat

1 small onion

1 tomato

1 green chili pepper

1 can of sweet corn

1 can of red beans

Garlic powder

Cummin

Chili powder

Onion powder 

Salt

Adobo chili powder(optional)

Red crushed pepper

( to save time, you can use a package of taco seasoning, I just choose to make my own) 

First I brown my meat and remove from pan. I then sauté my onion and diced green chili pepper. ( I sauté in olive oil because I need to cook dairy free) I cook all together for 2-3 minutes or until the onion starts to carmalize. 

Next I add the meat, 1/2 cup of water, diced tomato and seasonings. I typically start with about 1tbs each seasoning except the red pepper. I simmer these together for 5minutes.

Then I add the corn in its liquid and the beans in its liquid to the pan. I then add an additional 2 cans of water to the pot.  I buy salt free veggies but the beans will be salted. If you need a low sodium meal, rince and drain your corn and beans. 

I always simmer mine on low for at least an hour or sometimes all day in the crockpot on low while I am at work. 

The longer it cooks, the more flavor it is going to have. Continue to add seasoning to taste. 

It is finished!

If you want to top it off, I use cheese and sour cream. You can also use raw onion, jalepeno, cilantro etc.

****Now for those of you who are not on a dairy free diet- I used to add 4oz sour cream and 8oz of velveta to my taco soup :)  it makes it a lot creamier. We just add it on top now to keep it allergy free for our little one.   ( the photo above Is a pic of the soup once we added sour cream and velveta, little bit was not feeling well and couldn't eat soup tonight)

Enjoy!!

Beth