My Girl, Paula! - Taco Soup

Awesome Mom! Yep, that's what my kids said last night when I made them Paula Deen's Taco Soup from My Girl, Paula's weekly cooking group. This was a very easy soup to put together in my crock pot. Hamburger was on sale last week, so that was another big plus. I began the soup early in the day, and let is cook on low all day long. The aroma was wonderful - mouthwatering!!

This does make ALOT of soup. Paula's cookbook says 12-16 servings, and I'd say every bit of 16 servings if not more. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but really it isn't that much - mostly canned beans and tomatoes. You don't add any chicken broth, water or individual spices. The soup gets all of it's flavor from the taco season pack and the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix. By accident, I bought the Hidden Valley dip mix, and it still tasted great (I'm not sure there is that much difference!!). I did skip the green olives, since they were fairly expensive at our grocery and in a large jar - I don't know any other need I'd have for them. Overall, the soup is similar to chili, but more "soup" like - not as thick and not "hot" like chili - just very flavorful. It is a great soup any time of year, but extra nice since it can be made in the crock pot during the hot summer months.

I plan on freezing the leftovers in quart size freezing containers for quick lunches and fast dinners. That's a BIG plus with me!! Here is a link to the recipe should you want to try it (I highly recommend it!!). I put a few Frito Corn Chips in the bottom of the bowl, and some shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream on top and served it with cornbread on the side. It was a hearty meal for the little cavemen!!