Taco Soup (In the Crockpot!)

Ingredients

·       1 pound hamburger meat or ground turkey

·       1-2 Tablespoons taco seasoning, more or less to taste

·       1 medium sweet onion, chopped finely

·       1 orange bell pepper, chopped

·       1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

·       15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

·       15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

·       15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed Z

·       15 ounce can corn (or one bag of frozen)

·       15 ounce can tomato sauce

·       10 ounce can Rotel

·       15 ounce can diced tomatoes

·       1/4 cup salsa, fresh is best

 

Instructions

1.  Brown hamburger in a large pan over medium-heat. Add taco seasoning. (Sometimes I skip this entire step by buying a pound of ground beef from Bravo Mexican Grill.)

2.  Add in the onions, bell peppers and sauté for a few minutes.

3.  Add all ingredients to the crockpot* and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

4.  Top with sour cream and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese quesadillas. Enjoy!

* I place all of my tomato products (Rotel, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce) in the blender before adding to the crockpot because my people don't like to "see" tomatoes.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

·     9 medium ripe tomatoes, quartered

·     ½ large sweet onion

·     3-4 stalks of celery

·     12-15 baby carrots

·     1 ½ tsp. minced garlic (or 3 fresh cloves)

·     1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·     2 Tablespoons olive oil

·     salt and pepper to taste 

·     3/4 cup vegetable (or chicken) stock

·     1 Tablespoon lemon juice

·     10-12 fresh basil leaves

·     ½ t. salt

·     1/8 c. brown sugar

Instructions

ROAST THE TOMATOES (45 MINUTES):

1.   Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.   Spread tomatoes, garlic, and dried thyme on a large sheet pan.

3.   Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands or a large spatula to toss everything together on the sheet pan – you want to make sure the tomatoes evenly coated with oil and seasonings.

4.   Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

5.   Roast tomatoes at 425 degrees F for 40 minutes until tomatoes have shriveled. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes.

SAUTEE REMAINING VEGETABLES (15 MINUTES):

1. Chop onion, celery and carrots, and sautee in a little olive oil until onions are translucent.

BLEND THE SOUP (5 MINUTES):

1.   Transfer all vegetables to a blender.

2.   Add vegetable stock, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, and ½ tsp. of salt to the blender (because we’re working with so few ingredients, seasoning is key here – be sure to taste and add salt as you go!)

3.   Blend soup until smooth. We recommend blending for at least a full minute for best results!

4.   Add basil leaves to the blender and pulse.

5.   Pour soup into bowls and serve immediately. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a toasted baguette slice if you like.