Saturday, October 8, 2011

Taco Soup with variations



This is a very versatile soup that can be made low sodium, vegetarian, and in the crock pot.  It can be quick or slow simmered. Variations will be listed after the original recipe.
*made with only first 7 ingredients, this makes about 9 cups, or 9 servings at only 158 calories per*

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
32 oz beef broth
1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes (or equivalent of fresh or canned from your own garden)
1-1/2 c picante sauce medium or hot
2 Tblsp chili powder (2 tsp if you don't want too hot)
Shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, etc for serving

In large saucepan, cook onion and garlic until translucent
add beef, brown and drain
add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil, stir occasionally
reduce heat and cover, simmer 15 minutes



VARIATIONS
Now when it comes to soup, I'm a little old school.  I like to simmer mine for a while so that all of the flavors intermingle and everything gets really yummy.....

1. add 4 cups of water and simmer for at least two hours or until it is the thickness you prefer

2. CROCK POT: Take recipe as is, add 1 cup of water, place in crock pot after browning (if you brown your ground beef ahead of time and freeze it, you are ready to go) cook on low 8-10 hours

3. VEGETARIAN: replace ground beef with vegetarian crumbles, and replace beef broth with vegetable broth

4. LOW SODIUM: use low sodium beef broth (or make your own), tomatoes, and picante

Until Next Time.....
Franny

3 comments:

  1. This looks really, really good!! Wow! Thank you so much for sharing it with us at the linky party today!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like to make a similar version, but with a Velveeta type cheese (cubed), a can of Rotel tomatoes, a can of mixed vegetables, and one to two cans of chili beans. Stir together with cooked ground beef until all cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips. Yummy.

    ReplyDelete