Back in January, I posted a recipe for taco soup, which I called Take One. It was alright, but didn’t quite have the taste I was looking for. So the search continued. Today, I bring you Take Two, which also happens to be the Final Take for me. I can’t say definitively that I’ll never try or post another taco soup recipe, but for now, this one was exactly what I was looking for.

Or it was the second time, when I bought the right tomatoes, and not the ones with the Italian seasoning. Italian seasoning and taco seasoning just don’t play well together. In any case, I found this recipe on the Crockpot 365 blog, which is AWESOME if you have never been there.

You’ll need: 1 lb ground beef, 1 packet taco seasoning, 1 packet ranch dressing dry mix, 2 cans kidney beans, 2 cans pinto beans, 2 cans corn, 1 can tomatoes with green chilies, 1 large can of diced tomatoes. Optional: cheese and sour cream.

Brown your ground beef, drain, and add to your crock pot.

Pour in your packet of taco seasoning.

Followed by the packet of ranch dressing mix.

Drain and rinse two cans of kidney beans, and add those to the crock pot.

Same with the pinto beans– drain and rinse, then add to the pot!

Add in 2 cans of whole kernel corn, this time without draining.

Add one can of tomatoes with green chilies, without draining.

Finally, add your large can of diced tomatoes, also without draining.

Give it a good stir, put the lid on and cook on low for 8-10 hours. This smelled absolutely amazing while it was cooking! I could hardly leave it alone in the kitchen!

When it was finally done, I dished it into a bowl.

And topped it with some cheese and sour cream. This was exactly what I was going for. I felt like this recipe hit all the points that left me disappointed in the last taco soup. It’s probably more of a chili that’s taco flavored than the other one was. Either way, I was happy with the results!

Taco Soup
From Crockpot 365

2 cans kidney beans
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans corn
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes and chiles
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 lb ground beef
cheese and sour cream

Brown meat, add to crockpot. Sprinkle the seasoning packets on top of the meat. Drain and rinse the beans and add. Add the cans of corn and tomatoes without draining.

Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Serve with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

This is another recipe out of my long-neglected Betty Crocker cookbook. I have absolutely no complaints about this soup, and I’ve actually made it three separate times now, so I figured it was time I actually write about it! It’s easy to make, and it heats up really well. It takes about 3 hours in my slow cooker.

You’ll need 16 oz. of hashbrown potatoes, 1 can whole kernel corn, 1 can creamed corn, 1 can evaporated milk, 8 slices bacon, onion, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.

Put your potatoes in the slow cooker. The recipe calls for 16 ounces, thawed. I could only find 32 ounce bags, so I eyeballed about half the bag, and I’m too impatient to wait for them to thaw. It turned out fine.

Add in one can of whole kernel corn, undrained.

And one can of creamed corn. This would be why they call it “double-corn” because I’m sure that wasn’t completely obvious already.

Pour in one 12 oz. can of evaporated milk.

Toss in some diced onion. I think the recipe calls for a medium onion, or 1/2 cup. I had some already diced left over from another meal, so I just dumped in a handful. I’m not too big on onions, so I sure wasn’t going to be crying if I didn’t get enough in there.

1/2 teaspoon of salt…

1/4 teaspoon pepper…

And 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

Give it a quick stir together, and go ahead and get it cooking. My bacon wasn’t done cooking yet (I was baking it in the oven) but I wanted to get the soup started so I put the lid on and turned the slow cooker on high.

When my bacon was cooked and crumbled, I went ahead and added it in. Adding the bacon near the beginning of the cooking process will help distribute the flavor. Adding it in near the end will help retain crispy bacon bits. I add mine at the beginning because I figure by the third time I reheat it, all the bacon’s going to mushy anyways!!

Let it cook for 3-4 hours on high.

It heats up wonderfully, so this has been a great meal to make one night, and take to work for lunch during the week! Since it only takes 3 or so hours for me, it’s one crock pot meal that I’ll tackle on a weeknight. (I’m uncomfortable cooking in the crock pot when I’m going to be gone for more than an hour, even though I realize that’s the big draw to slow cooker recipes for most people!)

Potato and Double Corn Chowder

1 bag (16 oz.) frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed (4 cups)
1 can (15.25 oz.) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can (14.75 oz.) cream-style corn
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In 3.5-6 qt slow cooker, mix all ingredients. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6-8 hours (or high heat setting for 3-4 hours) to develop flavors. Sprinkle each serving with parsley, if desired.

Sometime before Christmas, I decided to take advantage of all the sales out there and buy myself a crock pot. Technically a slow cooker, since mine was not made by Rival, but you know what I mean. I immediately had to find a bunch of recipes to try out, and this is the first of them. Expect plenty more crock pot recipes coming up in the relatively near future. I love tacos, taco salads, nachos, that sort of thing, so Taco Soup jumped right out at me.

I found this recipe at Slow and Simple. I thought it sounded promising, but there are a lot of taco soup recipes available out there and I have to say this one is not going to be my favorite. Part of that could be my fault as I think I added too much water, but even though this was good, it just didn’t have quite what I was looking for. That’s why it’s Taco Soup, Take One. I fully intend to try a different recipe soon! But let’s get started with this one, maybe you’ll like it better than I did.

You’ll need 1 lb ground beef, 2 pkg taco seasoning mix, 1 can corn, 1 can black beans, 1 can tomatoes with green chiles, 1 onion, 1 green pepper (The original recipe also called for black olives, which I don’t like, and tomatillos as an optional ingredient. I left both out.) Don’t worry, my meat’s not bad, it’s just still frozen.

Gratuitous picture just to show off my new crockpot. Woohoo!

Brown and drain your ground beef on the stove top, then add it to the bottom of your crock pot.

Add in your two packets of taco seasoning mix. I kind of stirred it in before moving on to the next step, but I don’t think that’s a requirement.

Throw in your chopped green pepper…

And your chopped up onion.

Followed by the 16 oz can of tomatoes with green chiles, undrained. (Sidenote- this may have also contributed to why I wasn’t thrilled with this soup. I got the hot can of tomatoes, but I don’t like spicy AT ALL. It was too much for me, I may have liked this better with a milder can of tomatoes.)

Add your can of black beans, undrained. This is where I started to worry about this recipe… have you SEEN what canned beans are floating in?? Still, I poured it into the crock pot.

Finally, add the can of whole kernel corn, also undrained.

I gave it a quick stir to make sure all the goodies were distributed.

Then I added two cans of water to fill the crock pot. If I were going to make this soup again, I’d cut it back to one can of water, and just keep an eye on it. I felt like this soup was not thick enough, and this is probably why.

Cover the crock pot, and cook on low for 5 or more hours.

This is what the final product looked like, dished up into a bowl.

I added a handful of cheese and sour cream to the bowl. Not pictured, the handful of Fritos I also added to help “thicken” it up.

If you make this, let me know how it turns out. I wasn’t impressed, but maybe it will float your boat!

1 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained
2 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 16 oz can tomatoes with green chilies, undrained.
1 16 oz can black beans, undrained.
1 16 oz can corn, undrained
1 can black olives, chopped or sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
4 tomatillos, chopped (optional)

Place everything in a large crockpot, add water, if necessary to fill. Cook on low for 5 or more hours until flavors are blended. Top each bowl with a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Serve with sour cream, taco chips, and salsa on the side.