HOMEMADE TACO SOUP

It has been so cold lately that all I seem to want to make is soup! My mom knows me well and recently gave me this rec-ipe for a quick and healthy taco soup. I really like it because it’s a little different than the ones that I’ve made before.This soup can be made on the stove top in about 45 minutes, but I’ve also included slow cooker instructions in case you want to start it in the morning and come home to a hot supper in the evening. With baseball and softball season start-ing up, I know that sched-ules are getting busy, so it’s nice to have a handful of recipes that you can fix and forget until the end of the day!This is also a great soup to cook in a large batch for a healthy meal prep. I like to portion it out into individual con-tainers and freeze them for when I need a quick grab and go meal. I used ground sirloin, but it would be equally as deli-cious with ground turkey or even ground chicken for a lighter option.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs ground sirloin

• ½ onion, diced

• 1 orange bell pepper, diced

• 2 Tbsp tomato paste

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic

• 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

• 1 (1oz) packet taco seasoning

• 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (15oz) can kidney beans. drained and rinsed

• 1 (15oz) can fire-roasted corn, drained and rinsed

• 1 (15oz) can petite diced tomatoes

• 1 (4oz) can diced green chilies

• 3-4 cups beef bone broth

• 1 tsp beef base (more if needed)

• Seasoned salt & ground black pepper to taste.

Directions

1) In a large pot over medium heat cook the ground sirloin until browned and cooked through-out. Drain fat.

2) Add the diced onion, bell pepper, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, taco seasoning and tomato paste. Stir and sweat the ingredients together for 1-2 minutes.

3) Add the drained and rinsed cans of black beans, kidney beans, corn.

4) Add petite diced tomatoes, diced green chilies, beef broth and beef base.

5) Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6) Taste and add seasoned salt and pepper if needed.

7) Serve with your favorite toppings.(Suggested: Avocado, Cilantro, Shredded cheddar, Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, Crushed tortilla chips, Fresh lime wedges, Hot sauce)

To make in a slow cooker, after browning and draining ground sirloin, add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours (or more) or high for about 4 hours.

This recipe serves 4.