the honorary swedish citizen

This morning I made crêpes for the first time ever, and I was nervous about it.  Everyone always talks about how it is really “hard” and there’s a “learning curve” but that only lasted for about 2 crêpes (which, by the way, were completely edible) and then they we’re consistently awesome.  I will post the recipe I used another time.  But on to the second awesome thing I made today…. TACO SOOOO-WAAHHP.  (That was said in my best Minnesotan accent.)

So I have made Taco Soup consistently ever since I got married.  I got the recipe from my friend Peter Janelle’s mom Tina, waaaaaay back when we lived in Chicago.  That recipe is one done on the stove-top and I have probably made it 100 times since then.  I have also tried other Taco Soup recipes for the crock pot, but they would come out dry or chewy or something else weird that Taco Soup should not be.  But then, I came across a recipe that was pretty darn good for the crock pot, enough so that I would make it again.

Today when I made it, I decided to follow the “dump” rule from the Janelle family recipe and just dump all the contents of the cans in- no draining allowed.  It was SO GOOD LIKE THAT.  SO GOOD.  

Taco Soup, Jenah’s Crock Pot Version

2 cans of kidney beans

2 cans of pinto beans

1 can of corn + 1 “can” of frozen corn

1 large can of diced tomatoes (or two regular sized ones)

1 can tomatoes with chiles (Like the Rotel brand.  Aldi has a pretty good one, too.)

1 Taco seasoning packet (Or you can make your own!)

1 Ranch Dressing Mix packet (Or 2 tbsp if you have the big container from Sam’s, yes, we’re that obsessed with Ranch)

1 lb browned ground beef (90/10 was the kind I used.  I don’t like to use much less than this for browning because I always feel like half my meat cooks off because of the high fat content.  Save 70/30 for burgers.)

Chips, sour cream, shredded cheese (For embellishment purposes as you serve it.)

Ok, so here are the directions:

Dump it all in.  Yes, ALL.  Don’t drain ONE SINGLE CAN.  (Except don’t add the chips and stuff, silly.)  Cook on low for 8 hours.  (Sorry you last minuters, you just can’t rush perfection.)

When you serve it, top it with a dollop of Daisy (sorry I couldn’t resist,) a sprinkle of cheese, and a handful of chips.  Mmmm!

This turned out amazing.  It was so hearty, but not thick like a chili.  It was soup, but not too watery, either.  Because of the tomatoes with chiles, this version comes out a little “warmer” than other versions, so if your kids don’t like spice, give them a double scoop of sour cream to cool it down.  This makes A LOT so don’t try to make it in anything less than your BIG @$$ crock pot, the 6 qt kind.    

Enjoy!