Because We All Need To Eat A Little More Beans

Every year at Christmas I used to host an Ornament Party with my girlfriends.  You had to make a certain number of ornaments and we would exchange them, tell how we made them, eat lots of Christmas goodies, play games, socialize, and generally have a good time.

And then, my kids got older and busier and my anxiety issues worsened and that just seemed like a whole lot of crazy (good crazy, but still crazy) to add to my Christmas season.

So last year and this year - because I definitely still need my girlfriend time in this House of Testosterone - I decided to cut out the ornaments, Christmas cookies, and the games and go straight for the good stuff: dinner and socializing.

Best. Decision. Ever. I really do love having people over, and oh my, does it finally get me to clean my house up! And in the midst of the busy Christmas season, what could be more sustaining for the body and soul than a little Soup & Salad night??  You know my affection for soup as seen here and here.  And since several of my girlie poos asked for the recipe last night, I thought I might just share it with all of you.

I'd have invited you to the party, but my table only seats up to 10.

But you are welcome - WELCOME - to make this at your house and invite me over.  Dinner at 6:00??

Taco Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes or however fast you can dump things into a pot

Total Time: however long you want it to be...the longer the better...minimum 1 hour

Makes: vats of soup for millions...or enough for a dinner party of 10ish

* 1 pound ground beef (or, I suppose you could use chicken or ground turkey, but I am your classic All-American Red Meat Girl)

* 1 large onion, finely chopped

* 2 cans diced tomatoes with celery and onion

* 1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies (I doubled this amount last night)

* 1 can black beans (also doubled last night)

* 1 can kidney or red beans (whoops!  totally forgot these!)

* 1 can navy beans (I use Great Northern beans - yes!  even in this southern state!)

* 1 can pinto beans

* 1 can shoepeg corn

* 1 can Mexicorn (doubled last night also)

* 1 package taco seasoning

* SECRET INGREDIENT ALERT: 1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

* 2 cans chicken broth

OK. So sit down and take a breather from hauling all those cans home from the grocery store and then get your game on and brown that ground beef with the onion.  And now? Dump everything else in the pot and mix together.  I will tell you that I am kind of grossed out at the stuff in the bean cans, so I always rinse my beans before I put them in.  I put it all together in my crockpot (!love!) and let it simmer all day.  If you can make it the day before, the flavor is even more improved.  To serve, place crushed corn chips in the bottom of your soup bowl.  Add the soup and garnish with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and/or black olives.

And for dessert?  I tried this, and I think it was a hit!