Sunday Soup

Perhaps I'm a bit late to the show; it certainly wouldn’t be the first time. But I have recently discovered the easiest, most delicious fall soup recipe.

Each year my company hosts a fundraiser in which all my normally respectable, nose to the grind, uptight co workers don their most creative and inventive costumes, share in a potluck, and raise money for our education foundation.  It was at this year's event that I first discovered, and fell in love with, Taco Soup.

While there were several soups and chilis lined up on the buffet, I kept going back to this spicy, warm, meaty soup. I guess I wasn’t the only one because as I was sneaking into the break room later in the day to have another bite or two, I realized that someone else had beat me to it.

Lazy Sundays are few and far between in my household. But today I found myself right in the middle of one. The mister was off to a Titans game, the kids were at a sleepover, and I was hungry. So a quick email to a fellow LBDC member asking for her recipe and a trip to the grocery store produced a bottle of wine and all the ingredients to make Taco Soup. This is the perfect “cold day out” recipe: it takes minutes to prepare it and toss it in the crock pot, and then while it warms you have time to enjoy the leaves falling while sipping on your favorite glass of wine.  By the time the family returned home late in the afternoon, dinner was ready, the house smelled wonderful, and my husband and kids were amazed at all my hard work. I’ll never speak to the contrary!

There are several versions of this recipe online. I’m sure you can pick and choose depending on preference, but here is the recipe that my good friend Amy shared with me.

Taco Soup
Ingredients
2 lbs of browned ground beef,drained
2 cans of cream style corn
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of rotel
2 cans of light red kidney beans (drained)
1 packet of hidden valley ranch salad dressing
1 packet of taco seasoning

Directions
Put ground beef (or shredded chicken, smart ground or any type of meat) in bottom of crock pot.
Add all other ingredients one at a time
Stir together and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.

Serving suggestions
Top with fritos, cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream
Also serves well if you add a spoonful to a bed of salad greens and eat with tortilla chips.

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did. It was a big hit with my kids.

Happy souping!

-Shay Ashcraft

Social Media Director, LBDC