On Thu, 10 May 2001, Ronn Blankenship wrote:
> At 09:49 PM 5/10/01 -0500, Julia wrote:
>
>
> >On Thu, 10 May 2001, John D. Giorgis wrote:
> >
> > > I'll have to try that spicy idea though.... I think I have a frozen
> > > burrito someone in my freezer......
> >
> >Should I post the recipe for taco soup here? It's not chicken soup (it's
> >beef), but it's still pretty good, and clears me out nicely.
>
>
> Just be sure to use fresh beef, or it will "clear you out" in more ways
> than one.
I'm very careful to freeze the ground beef BEFORE the "use or freeze by"
date. :)
Family Taco Reunion Soup
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 28 oz canned tomatoes undrained
1-2 packages Taco Seasonings mix (1.25 oz)
1 package of ranch dressing mix (1 oz.)
1/2 cup picante sauce
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
2 15-17 oz cans of whole kernel corn undrained
1 15-16 oz can of pinto beans
2 cups of water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Tortilla chips and grated cheese
Brown the beef, onion and bell pepper in a large pot and drain. Cut up
tomatoes and add to the pot - with their juice. Add the taco seasonings,
the dressing mix and the picante sauce, tomato paste, corn, beans, water,
salt and pepper. Simmer 1 hour. Serve in bowls and sprinkle each serving
with tortilla chips and cheese. Alternate: serve over rice. Makes a large
pot, about 12 servings.
Julia's notes:
Chopping the onion & pepper more finely takes longer, but makes for a
somewhat nicer soup.
I buy a can of *chopped* tomatoes, to avoid having to chop them myself.
Simmering longer than the recommended hour doesn't hurt, certainly; I'd
recommend more like 90 minutes, if you can hold out that long with the
aroma of the soup filling the air.
We use Kraft Mexican 4-cheese, already shredded, and that works nicely,
but if you like shredding your own cheese, do so. I'd recommend that you
have at least cheddar and jack if you're doing that. Pepper jack might be
interesting, to say the least.
We make double batches; it takes less than twice as much time as a single
batch, and you can feed more people (or have a lot more leftover for
freezing). I recommend heating the defrosted leftovers in a saucepan
until nicely warm.
I've checked various brands of tortilla chips and found it's nicest with
something that's low in salt but not entirely saltless. I don't know how
many folks can get El Lago or El Gallindo brands, but those are ones I
recommend if you can get them. (I prefer El Lago due to a silly reason.)
Julia
