Taco Soup

I made this Taco Soup as part of the group My Girl, Paula. Each week we cook from Paula Deen's cookbook The Lady and Sons, Too. It's been a really fun group so far. I'd had the cookbook sitting around for a while and really wanted to try cooking more from it. Mission accomplished! And I bet you would never guess that out of the five weeks I've been cooking along with the group, there's only been one recipe that's used butter! Seeing as how everyone thinks Paula cooks with butter so much, I was pleasantly surprised to keep the butter in the fridge 4 out of the 5 weeks so far.

This Taco Soup was really delicious. The ingredients include ground beef, beans, tomatoes, corn, green chilies and taco seasoning. It's all combined into a slow cooker and left to cook all day. I love slow cooker recipes - so easy and convenient. This soup sort of reminded me of chili. I served it with tortilla chips, cheddar cheese and sour cream and that made it sooo delish.

The recipe makes a ton, but since I wasn't feeding an army, I cut it in half and we STILL had leftovers. This is a recipe that we all liked and I'll definitely be making again!


Taco Soup
(from Paula Deen)

2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

1. Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot.

2. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.

3. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.