Have you ever filled out a recipe card? You know, the types our moms (if you’re in my generation) exchanged all the time, and they had notebooks or boxes filled with them? In this “All Recipes” / Google era, I don’t always appreciate what a labor of love it is to laboriously write all of the ingredients and the cooking instructions by hand onto a little card … until I do it once or twice. It is a serious labor of love.
When I got married, a friend of mine wrote out probably 20-25 recipe cards of her family’s favorite recipes/favorite recipes for entertaining a crowd. I imagine that she spent hours writing them out … what a labor of love! Of all the great recipes she gave me, this is the one that I refer to the most: taco soup.
There’s nothing fancy about this soup. Nobody’s going to call it gourmet, you’re not going to have to hunt down any special ingredients, you’re not going to be introducing anybody to new flavors or ideas. But this is a solid taco soup recipe that everybody’s sure to like. It goes down easy, it satisfies (not to mention that it’s economical, especially when you’re using elk burger instead of beef); it’s a perfect comfort food.
Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese and sour cream (if you have it around and your crowd likes it).
Taco Soup
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb burger
1/4 c. taco seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
3 cups hot water
3 chicken bouillon cubes (or substitute chicken broth/stock for the bouillon and water)
2 – 15 oz cans corn (or the equivalent in frozen corn)
2 – 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 – 28 oz can kidney or black beans
Directions
Saute onion in oil. Add the burger and cook until browned. Add taco seasoning, chili powder, water, bouillon, and tomatoes; simmer 30 min to 3 hours (depending on how much time you have … the flavors meld nicely if you simmer it for a long time). Add the corn and beans and simmer another hour. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream.