Taco Soup

I made this on Halloween, the perfect fall soup!  This soup is even acceptable to the mister bc it's definitely hearty!  It's a Paula Deen recipe so you know it's that good!  And easy?  Yes!

For this soup, you'll need:

• 2 lbs ground beef (I used about a pound and a half)
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 - 15 1/2 oz cans pink kidney beans
• 2 - 15 1/2 oz cans pinto beans
• 1 - 15 1/2 oz can of niblet corn, drained
• 1 - 14 1/2 oz can Del Monte mexican tomatoes*
• 1 - 14 1/2 oz can Del Monte tomatoes with chilies*
• 1 - 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 - 4 1/2 oz cans diced green chilies*
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced - optional
• 1 - 1 1/4 oz pkg taco seasoning mix
• 1 - 1 oz pkg Hidden Valley Original Ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips
• Sour cream
• grated cheese
• chopped onions

**I used 2 cans of Rotel instead of the Del Monte tomatoes, I couldn't find them

**I used one - 7 oz can of diced green chilies

Brown meat with onion, drain fat.

Pour in beans, corn, tomatoes, chilies, olives, and seasonings.  If using crockpot, cook on low for 6-8 hours or simmer on low heat for an hour in stockpot for an hour.  I simmered mine on the stove for a little more than an hour.

To serve, we tested fritos on the bottom, before ladling the soup, or topping soup with fritos.  Both me & the hubby agree, topping with fritos is better than putting fritos first - the crunch was much better to us than soggy chips!

After the chips, I also topped it with sour cream, shredded cheddar & green olives.  I guess black olives would work, too, but this mama gets grossed out by black olives so they don't make it to anything cooked in this kitchen :)

Doesn't it look yummy?!?  Totally Yummy!!