Taco Soup

I received a recipe for this kind of soup years ago at a Pampered Chef party and have since kind of made it my own. Not sure if I'm still going by the original recipe since I often just throw stuff together. I know we had fajitas yesterday so maybe having another taco dish is redundant to some people. Luckily, my family isn't picky when it comes to repeats! :)

I poked around my pantry and I had all of the following:

Looks like a good soup to me! Now, I have to let you in on a little secret. This soup isn't just awesome because of the taste. It's awesome because it's a "dump and go" soup. You don't even drain the cans before you dump the contents into the pot. You basically open the can, dump in the entire contents and voila! You've got soup! Oh, you want more detailed instructions? Well, here you go:

Brown and drain one pound of ground beef (also works with ground chicken).

Add one can of diced tomatoes, one can of corn, one small can of green chilies, one small can of mushrooms (optional), and one can of light kidney beans (can also add any other kind of bean you have on hand---pinto, black beans, etc.), one packet of dry ranch mix and taco seasoning (of course I am still using my home-made seasoning for this one).

A few tips:
*If you don't want to let it sit all day in a crock pot, I would suggest browning the beef in a dutch oven and letting all the ingredients simmer for about 30 minutes before you eat it. It's so much better when all the flavors can meld together for a bit. If you are lazy like me, you might want to make your dinner in the morning, but eat it at dinner time. So, I brown the beef and then add everything to my crock pot. Again, voila, you've got yourself one easy meal!

*You can use a packet of taco seasoning for this one, but I would start by adding just half of the packet (or 1/2 T. of the homemade stuff). If you like your soup spicy, then go ahead and add more. (I usually add about 1 T., but what can I say? Some like it hot.)

 *Pile on the toppings! This is like a taco in a bowl, so go ahead and add some sour cream, shredded cheese and whatever else you like after you scoop it into serving bowls. Maybe it's just an excuse for me to eat sour cream, but boy, it sure is yummy! :)