Taco Soup

Today is my day. I'm reading and scrapbooking all day long...or at least until the kids get home. My favorite dish to make on Me Days is taco soup. It's yummy, it involves the crock pot, and I could put it together in my sleep.

Everyone has a recipe for taco soup, so this isn't an original thought, but it's a recipe that changed my cooking life.

I remember the first time I ever ate Taco Soup. It was in college, and I'd brought my roommates home for the dead day weekend to "study for finals". It was cold and Christmas was right around the corner, so we were wearing our over sized flannel shirts with leggings, and thick comfy socks. We arrived at the house around dinner time and Mom served Taco Soup. And I'm pretty sure we ate on that pot of soup all weekend. And when it was time to go home, we all sat around the bar in the kitchen and carefully copied down Mom's recipe. And I'm pretty sure we're all still eating it (or at least our own little version of it) today.

Here's how I make Taco Soup:

1 lb ground meat (beef, turkey, sausage all work great)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can Ranch Style beans
1/2 pkg taco seasoning
1 sm pkg Ranch dressing mix
(optional) 1 sm can diced black olives

Brown meat and season it to taste. Dump meat, all cans with juice, and package seasonings into crock pot. I usually throw in a can of water because the juices from the cans doesn't look like enough liquid to me. Cook on low all day long and forget about it. When your stomach starts to growl serve with grated cheese sprinkled on top and some good, sturdy, great for dipping corn chips on the side.