The Ranch Kitchen's Taco Loco Soup

 

The Ranch Kitchen's Taco Loco Soup

 

 

Texas this winter has been bitterly cold.  Yes, down here, we do winter...just not this cold of a winter!  Temperatures have been in the teens and twenties and if we had any mosquitoes, I hope they are long gone by now!  Our daughter is hoping for a long overdue snow day!  I know our friends up in the northern US are beyond sick of snow days and are ready for spring!

 

Tonight I walked in to an under the weather husband. My workaholic man never comes in at 3:30 p.m., builds a fire and sits in his recliner before eight at night, so I knew he felt rough.  I also now have the delight of one extra mouth to feed and my older two girls say I get to experience what it's like to have a son in the house.  My relaxation at night strangely is cooking...so having one more around to eat what I dream up is going to be a treat!   

 

This winter and spring we are sharing our house with dear Herefords friends son Kyle as he student teaches agricultural education at our high school.  When his parents asked us to find him a place to live, we knew immediately that he had to stay with us.  Our youngest daughter is pretty excited to have the company and I think the hubby is glad to have an extra hand on the ranch and on the trot lines this spring.  Kyle says he thinks he'll eat well and I feel certain I won't have many left overs! 

 

So on this frigidly cold night I cooked my Taco Loco Soup.  This soup however is not your standard soup and is my TexMex version of Taco Soup with black beans.  Taco soup has been a favorite at our house for many years.  It's a simple can of this, and can of that soup with some taco seasoning mix, ranch powdered dressing mix and of course a little Tony Chachere's.  Except this time I used Tony Chachere's Spice N' Herbs Seasoning which isn't as spicy as my normal Creole Seasoning. I thought it would go well with the ranch dressing powdered mix and it was a great addition.

 

My oldest daughter now makes Taco Soup on a normal basis and says her roommate loves it as much as she does. 

 

Kyle enjoyed the my Taco Loco Soup tonight and went back for seconds.  Even our youngest daughter who tends to be a picky little eater cleaned her bowl and had room for dessert!  Of course her motto is that there is always room for dessert! 

 

So if you are cold, tired, or just in a hurry for dinner....make my Taco Loco Soup!  You won't have many left overs and dinner can be ready in less than an hour easily!

 

 

The Ranch Kitchen's Taco Loco Soup

 

 

2 lbs. ground pork or ground beef, browned and all grease drained (I used ground pork)



1 large onion, chopped

1 can Hunts Stewed Tomatoes with Garlic

1 can Hunts Stewed Tomatoes

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Cilantro and Lime

1 can Ranch Style Black Beans, drained

1 can Kidney Beans, drained

2 cans Whole Kernel Corn, drained

1 package McCormick Taco Seasoning

1 package Ranch Dressing Mix - powdered NOT prepared salad dressing

1 tsp. Tony Chachere's Spice N' Herbs Seasoning

 

Brown meat and onions in large stew pot.  When slightly browned, drain grease off using a spoon.  I turn off the fire here, prop my pot carefully on a oven mitt and allow the grease to drain off to one side of the pot.  Gently spoon meat to one side of the pot before you drain off grease with a spoon, one tablespoon at a time into a heat proof boil. 

 

Add to the meat mixture all vegetable cans as describe above, plus the taco seasoning, Ranch Dressing powdered mix and Tony Chachere's Spice N' Herb Seasoning.  Add four cans of water using the Rotel tomato can...that should realistically be about 5 cups of water total. 

 

Bring the mixture to a boil on a medium high heat, then bring down to a low boil (low fire or electric stove top heat). Continue to cook on a low boil for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally making sure that your fire is not too high and you scorch your soup.  Always stir from the bottom of the pan and if you do scorch your soup, never scrap the bottom of the pot as the burnt flavor will ruin your soup. 

 

Spoon into large bowls, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and a spoon of sour cream and enjoy!  We ate my Mexican Cornbread  from my link  to my Jumbo Mexican Cornbread (I'd cut this recipe down to 1/4th!), left over fried biscuits from our catfish from the night before and Kyle crumbled saltine crackers over the top of his.

 

We sure are going to enjoy having him be a part of our family for a few months!  I hope he enjoy us and my cooking! 

 

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen