Taco Soup

The picture didn't turn out so great, but the soup was great. This soup is REALLY easy. If you can chop and onion and open a few cans, then you can make this soup.

Taco Soup:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 large cans tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
1 handful of cilantro (optional)
1 lime (optional)
5-6 Jalapeno pepper rings, diced (optional)

Directions:
1. In your soup pot, brown ground beef green pepper and onions.
2. Add tomato sauce, corn, tomatoes, and taco seasoning.
3. Cook over medium heat until the soup is warmed.
4. Add Jalapenos, cilantro and squeeze in lime juice.
5. Top each bowl with cheddar cheese, sour cream or sliced green onions. Serve with Fritos or tortilla chips.

Corny

Tonight, I made a hearty corn chowder. Jason loved it, but did worry about the next day (you know what happens after you eat too much corn). The only thing I did different from the recipe was shred up a roasted chicken from the grocery store and add to the chowder. It was really great!!!

Corn Chowder:

8 strips bacon, cooked & chopped

1/4 cup good olive oil

2 chopped yellow onions

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 cups chicken stock

6 medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled

2 pounds frozen corn kernels

2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:
1. In a large soup pot, cook bacon.

2. Leave some of the fat in the pot.

3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

4. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and cook for 3 minutes.

5. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

6. Add corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar.

7. At this point, I shredded up my roasted chicken and added it to the chowder.

8. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.

9. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

10. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

I love the idea of stuffed peppers, but I always wind up eating the filling and leaving the pepper. I just never want to take a big bite out of a green pepper. When I found this recipe, I thought it was brilliant. This tastes even better than stuffed peppers because the peppers are chopped up into small pieces and you still have all that great filling. I served this with garlic bread...it just felt right.

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup:
2 lbs ground round
3 small green peppers, chopped with seeds removed
1 small onion, chopped
1 can chicken broth
1 - 14.5 ounce can peeled, crushed tomatoes
2 - 10 ounce cans tomato sauce
3 cups white rice, cooked
8-10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. In a soup pot, cook ground beef in olive oil until browned
2. Add chopped onion and peppers and cook for 8 minutes
3. Drain grease
4. Add salt & pepper, chicken broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes
6. Cook rice (I used Minute rice) in a separate pot

** The recipe says to add rice to each bowl and then top with soup....I added all the cooked rice after the soup had cooked. I really like this better. The rice absorbs some of the liquid, so it ends up a little more on the stew side than a real soup, but it turned out great. This recipe makes a lot, but we froze the leftovers for another night.

Zuppa Toscana

Tonight's dinner was inspired by the Olive Garden. I'm not the biggest fan of that establishment, so when we go, I usually order this wonderful soup they have on the menu called "Zuppa Toscana." It's a thick, creamy, hearty soup that is really easy to make. Jason gave this dinner two thumbs up!!

Zuppa Toscana:
1 package of spicy italian sausage
1 large onion
2 medium potatoes, cut into cubes
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 slices bacon
2 cups kale leaves, sliced
2 Tablespoons chicken stock
1 quart water
1/3 cup heavy cream
Red pepper flakes -- to taste
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Remove sausage from casings
2. Cook sausage in skillet until done
3. In soup pot, cook bacon and onion until done
4. Remove bacon from pot
5. Add garlic to onion and cook for 1 minute
6. Add potatoes, chicken stock, water and simmer for 15 minutes
7. Add bacon, sausage, kale and cream
8. Simmer for 4 minutes, then serve

Posole'

Now I've never been to Mexico, but supposedly people eat Posole' around Christmas. In the Fall, every day is Christmas at our house because we love Posole'. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but you probably already have most of this stuff in your pantry already (ok, maybe not a can of hominy). This is a chunky, flavorful soup that I think you will love.

Posole':

2 cloves minced garlic

1 can hominy

1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 bell pepper (red or green), chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup chicken stock

1 bunch of cilantro

Juice from one lime

Salt & Pepper

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 lb. of pork steak -- now we can't always find "pork steak" (not even sure what that is exactly), so we use boneless pork chops and cut them up into bite size pieces

Toppings:

Sour cream

Chopped green onions

Cheddar cheese

Shredded lettuce

Diced Avocado

Sliced radishes

More cilantro

Tortilla chips or Fritos

1. Saute chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic in oil
2. Add chopped up pork and saute until browned
3. Add tomato sauce, chicken stock, hominy, and seasonings
4. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer
5. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, then add lime juice and cilantro
6. Serve with as many toppings as you like

***This recipe will make about two hearty bowls of posole'. If you are feeding four people, I would double this recipe. We usually double this recipe because we love it so much!!

Chili

Most people think chili has to slow cook all day, but in reality it can be ready in as little as 15 minutes. This is our easy chili recipe that you can tweak as needed. If chili seems like a chore to you, make sure and try our easy version.

1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 large onion, diced
4 - 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 can chili beans (we don't like too many beans in our chili)
1 packet of McCormick Mild Chili Seasoning
1 packet of McCormick Hot Chili Seasoning

Toppings:
Cheddar or Pepper Jack Cheese
Sour Cream
Fritos

Really, just follow the directions on the back of the chili seasoning packets. If you don't want to read that, just do the following:

1. Brown ground beef and onions in a large pot

2. Drain grease
3. Add tomato sauce, chili seasoning, and beans
4. Bring mixture to a boil and then let simmer for at least 15 minutes