Taco Soup (AKA chili w/ corn)

I am always surfing the 'net for recipes as is evidenced by my Pinterest Board 'Foodie Stuff.' (And, it's freaking cold here tonight.) I usually end up throwing bit and pieces of 4 or 5 recipes, along with whatever is my pantry, to make a modified whatever.  Today--it's a modified Taco Soup.  This is the only taco soup I know of with home made taco seasoning (Why on earth would anyone pay for taco seasoning when you probably already have everything you need on hand in your pantry AND you can control the sodium.)

I start by making the Taco Seasoning:


1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp each:  garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, salt, and pepper
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients.  This is what I use to replace one package of store bought taco seasoning.

Here's the finished product:

Taco Soup (AKA chili w/ corn)


1 lb ground beef, cooked
1 can corn, undrained
1 can pinto beans, undrained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes w/ chilies (Rotel)
1 can Rotel tomato sauce
taco seasoning (recipe above)
Tortilla chips, freshly grated cheese, sour cream (optional)

Pay no attention to the Lovey in the background.


Note the reduced sodium black beans.  You could also use make your own home made beans from dry beans if you though of this a day in advance, which I didn't.  Dump it all in your crock pot.  Yes, you can also make this on the stove top.

Mix.

You can see the flavor!  It may be too spicy for some; if so, just add another can of diced tomatoes.

Cook on high for 1.5 hours and on low for, eh, 30-mins to a hour and then serve.  You can serve this with tortilla chips and cheese as a garnish, and tonight I also made some very sad biscuits.  (That's a recipe for another day.  It needs tweaking.)

Wa-lah!  I hope you enjoy!

Coming up next:  Making a Valentine mailbox...maybe...