Ok, on to today. As the title implies, it's a busy day. So this will be a quick-and-to-the-point post, and may be lacking in witty repartee. :)
I don't know about your house, but around here there is at least one weeknight every week where people are on different schedules--late home from work nights, dinner-time meeting nights, Bible study nights...there's always something. And on those nights we usually end up having snacks in the afternoon and then eating dinner late, like 9:00 pm. We're late dinner-eating people anyway, usually between 6 and 7, so trying to eat dinner at 5:00 just doesn't work for us.
Soup in the crock is quite forgiving and flexible...it doesn't mind waiting on us. So taco soup is warming on the counter as we speak. If people who are home earlier want to eat, they can, and for those arriving at 9:00, and or those who choose to wait for everyone to arrive home...well, at least it's just one crock to clean. Bowls go right in the dishwasher, and Mama's not standing there til 10:00 doing dishes. It's a win no matter how you look at it.
Taco Soup
Is there anyone who hasn't made taco soup before? It's certainly not rocket science. Basically, if you have hamburger cooked, bagged up and frozen, and you have some cans of beans and canned or frozen tomatoes, and some frozen onions and peppers, well...you're all set. This is where you get to reap the rewards of stashing some goodies away in the freezer. If nothing else, just get yourself several pounds of hamburger--brown it up, cool it, bag in freezer bags and toss 'em in the freezer. You'll thank me when a busy day comes and you can throw dinner into the crock in about 3 minutes flat. The seasonings in this soup are your basic pantry staples: taco seasoning and ranch mix. I just googled "taco soup" and came up with this recipe, then of course, proceeded to change it. Here's mine:
1 lb. cooked ground beef
15 oz tomato sauce
1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with chilis (Muir Glenn)
1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
2 c. beef broth
2 1/2 "cans" of water--use the empty fire roasted tomato can...)
1 clove garlic, pressed
some chopped onion (1 medium onion) and bell peppers (about 2 cups) that you froze earlier! :)
3 T. (or one packet) taco seasoning
1 tsp. dry ranch dressing mix (I make my own, HERE, or I use Simply Organic brand ranch dip mix from Fred Meyer)
Directions: Take your onions, peppers and garlic and drizzle with a bit of oil, stir, and then microwave for about 2 minutes. Combine this mixture with all the other ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low about 4 hrs.
Serve with sour cream and chopped avocado or a dollop of guacamole, on a bed of crushed corn chips. This soup may need salt, but taste first because the corn chips will add salt.
*Be sure to check out the link above for that ranch mix--You may not want to use the big national brands or ranch mix they have in the stores salad dressing isle, because they usually have MSG and other stuff you may not want in them. Making your own is easy and economical, but the Simply Organic brand is really good too, and hey, it's done, and quick to tear open a pouch on a busy day, know what I mean? I typically make my own taco seasoning too, but this time I used bulk taco seasoning I bought at Costco. The link for the ranch dressing mix also includes recipes to make your own pumpkin pie spice, onion soup mix, etc. I haven't tried those yet, but I can vouch for the ranch recipe; it's great.
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