Yummo! Taco Soup!

I really like to cook. Not bake (see THIS POST for why), but cooking? Yes, please.

Cooking with 3 kids under 3, while working almost full time and trying to maintain a low standard of cleanliness in my house is not easy. So lately I gravitate towards cooking simple food: the easier to prepare, the better.

I've been hearing about Taco Soup for a long time but never tried it. I thought it wouldn't be that great. I mean, I'm a serious fan of tacos. I like them with flour tortillas, NOT watery and in a bowl. That sounds gross.

I WAS WRONG!
Taco Soup is AMAZING! And super easy, which means it is going on the meal rotation in our house.

Here's what you need:

1 can of pinto beans (16 oz)
1 can of white beans (like great northern) or kidney beans (16 oz)
1 can corn (11 oz)
1 can Rotel tomatoes (11 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can diced green chilis (4 oz)
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 envelope Ranch dressing seasoning
1 pound of cooked meat (shredded chicken, shredded beef or pork, ground beef)
Chicken or beef broth (however much you want)

Here's what I used....minus the animal crackers in the background, those were for the twins.

Here's what you do:

Open the cans and dump them into a crock pot. Do NOT drain anything, even the beans. I know that slimy bean stuff looks gross, but trust me, don't drain them. Open the packets of seasoning and dump it in, then add the cooked meat (I used ground beef).

This is what my crock pot looked like with everything dumped in.Now, stir up your soup. Does it look too chunky? If you want it more soup-like, add some chicken broth until it looks right to you. Cook it on high for about 2 hours or low for about 4 hours.

Serve it with crushed up tortilla chips and sour cream. Or some guacamole would be good, or just take whole tortilla chips and use the soup like dip.