Friday, December 3, 2010

Can't believe it's already the 3rd...


I haven't even thought about decorating the house yet. We went to the coast for Thanksgiving. We spent a week there and had a great time. The weather wasn't the best but it was still good to be away and in a different place. We went with some friends and we both cooked our meal together and also had another couple from our church come and join us for dinner. The dinner turned out spectacular and we all had a great day. The guys went out in the boats every day and went crabbing. Three of the days we had groups of people (friends of ours from church) come and go crabbing too. I made a double batch of Paula Deen's Taco Soup to serve when they came in from the cold, wet bay. It was a big hit with everyone. I've included the recipe if anyone would like it. My hubby Bob loves it and asks for it about every other week. LOL. We throw a handful of Fritos in the bowl and a dollop of sour cream on top and stir it in......yum.
Taco Soup
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
6 hr 0 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
12 to 16 servings

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish
Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.