Taco Soup

This recipe was given to me my best friend. What I didn’t realize at the time was that this recipe had been in my house the entire time in one of my Paula Deen cookbooks. My memory of this soup is like any good recipe or meal for that matter. I was visiting Jen and Jerome as I usually did when I lived at home and we were having dinner with Vanessa. It was a great meal. . . Jerome drank an entire bottle of wine, we had great conversations, and we had cornbread with honey butter, what can be better? Well, since that evening I have been making this soup for Jim and my friend Cassie as they always request this meal from me. It’s a great comfort meal and you can literally add anything to it. I usually use turkey in place of ground beef, but I have also made it without which is equally just as good. Sometimes I add olives, black beans and chickpeas, I use whatever I have in my pantry. I promise you as long as you add the ranch and chili seasonings it will taste great no matter what you add in.

The original recipe is as follows:

• 2 pounds ground beef (I use Turkey)
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheese, for garnish
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.
2. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos