Crock Pot Taco Soup

I got a recipe for this soup off the internet and then customized it to what I had on hand and what my family likes. The original is on allrecipes.com and is by Janeen Barlow. It says it serves 8 but my family had it for two meals, plus there was enough for me to have it for two lunches also.

1 pound ground beef

1 chopped onion

1 (16 oz.) can chili beans, with liquid

1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, with liquid

1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, with liquid

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

2 cups water

1 (14.5 oz.) cans peeled and diced tomatoes

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chile peppers

1 (1.25 oz.) package taco seasoning mix

(I substituted black beans for the kidney beans and 1 quart of bottled tomatoes from my garden last year for the diced tomatoes.)

In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned. Drain the fat off and put the meat in the crock pot. Add the onion, beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, tomatoes, green chiles, and taco seasoning mix to the crock pot and stir to mix.

Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for about 4.

Serve with sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, and corn chips if desired.

Potato Bar

This isn't really a recipe. I just realized that I make this quite a bit, my family really likes it, and it's pretty easy.

You just cook as many baked potatoes as your family needs. Then you decide what the toppings will be and you prepare them. Here is a list of the things I usually offer -

corn

beets

peas

carrots

bacon

eggs (scrambled if I'm lazy or boiled if I'm not)

grated cheese

Ranch dressing

You could also offer -

some kind of beans

sausage

fresh tomato

chopped fresh spinach

alfalfa sprouts or bean sprouts

cauliflower

Pretty much anything you see on a salad bar in a restaurant you could offer on a potato bar. Just think of the possibilities. Pinto beans, cheddar cheese, olives, tomato, hamburger and salsa to make a taco potato. Any veggie you could think of for a vegetarian version. Mozzarella cheese, tomato, chopped basil, and pepperoni or sausage for a pizza flavored potato.

The sky is the limit with this one, folks.

Enjoy!